RWBY New Generation
by HenrythePenguin
Summary: Twenty-six years after the events of the original series, the children of the original characters have been sent to Sanctum Academy in the kingdom of Mistral. The story follows the son and daughter of Sun Wukong and Blake Belladona as they balance their class time with saving Remnant from new enemies along side their friends.
1. Chapter 1

**Volume One**

 **Chapter 1: Welcome To Sanctum**

"Whyyyyyyyyy!" Eclipse groaned. "We're not even gonna be in the same classes _and_ it's a boarding school! It's not like someone's gonna grab us off the street as we casually stroll home!" Her parents had dropped the bomb on her. Due to the recent kidnappings, she would not be going to Sanctum Academy this year.

 _Why do I haffta wait?_ She thought to herself. At fifteen years, Eclipse should have been sent to Sanctum two years ago, when she was thirteen. But something always happened to ruin what should have been an awesome school year. The first time it was because they had just moved here and the academy was no longer accepting entry forms. The second time some kid got into a whole lot of trouble with the police by releasing Rapier Wasps on school grounds. Now there was this.

Her dad patted her on the head. "Sorry kid." He groaned, "I really thought you'd be going this year."

Eclipse gritted her teeth. "You said that last year _and_ the year before that." She grumbled. Why did this always happen! It wasn't fair! She hated being home schooled and wanted to go to a _real_ school.

Dad just looked at the ground sadly. He and Mom had been home schooling her and her brother when they could. Eclipse mostly learned skills from her mom since their weapons were similar. But Her brother had learned all kinds of interesting things from Dad. Like how to use his inherited weapons, Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang, how to use detective skills, how to hang by his tail… and how to be a thief. Of course Mom didn't know about that part.

"If she did she would probably kill me." He'd said. "She could throw daggers at me with her eyes!"

Eclipse stormed into her room. _How am I ever supposed to be a huntress if I can't even go to a beginner's academy! At this rate, I won't ever be strong enough to make it to Beacon!_ Eclipse wanted to go to Beacon more than anything.

Grumpily, she pulled a punching bag out of her closet and hung it on the hook in the corner of her room. She punched it until her arms were sore then flopped onto her bed. _I wish anything could happen so I could go to Sanctum._ She thought. Then she sighed. _Be careful what you wish for, Eclipse._ She reminded herself.

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Three days later the doorbell rang. Eclipse opened it to see someone she'd only ever seen on TV. Weiss Schnee. Part time Professor of close ranged combat at Beacon academy and owner of the Schnee Dust Company.

Her stern face broke into a smile. "And who might you be?" She asked.

"Uh… I'm…Eclipse. Eclipse Wukong."

Eclipse was normally good with strangers, when they weren't important, famous, grown-ups. Thankfully her mom came to the rescue. "Weiss?" She asked. Wait! Whaaaaat? Her mom _knew_ Professor Schnee? Since when? "Come in!"

Schnee entered followed by two kids about Eclipse's age. One was a boy with snowy white hair and glassy blue eyes. He was dressed in mostly white as well. His jacket looked like something a kid would weir to an adult's party. He looked a bit too naïve to be dangerous. The only thin that said otherwise was the rapier on his belt.

The other kid was a girl. She was, at first glance, a total tomboy. Her long blue hair had been pulled into two high ponytails. She wore racing goggles on her head and a red, rumpled, jacket. Her hands were shoved deeply into the pockets of her dark grey shorts. When she walked past Eclipse she could see a rather large gun in a holder strapped to her back.

The two of them walked in perfect unison behind their mother. They were the exact same height. They wore the same straight face. Their faces were oddly similar, come to think of it. Then Eclipse realized what was going on with them. They were twins.

Mom showed Schnee and her kids to the living room. Dad spat up his coffee when he saw them. "Ice Queen!" He choked. "What are you doing here?" Ice Queen? Dad knew her too?

Schnee looked irritated. "Sun." She greeted. Dad glanced at her kids. "Ah…" He sighed. "Married your first love!" He wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "I don't know how Neptune even puts up with you!"

"For your information, he could handle _me_ better than _you_."

Dad pulled his hand away and put a fist to his heart. "Ouch. No need to be cruel, Ice Queen."

"Enough. I came here to talk to Blake, not you."

Dad held up his hands in surrender. "Talk away!"

Mom told Eclipse to go to her room and take the twins with her. But, of course, all three of them stayed and listened at the door. "First things first." Said Schnee, "Blake, are you still in your pyjamas?"

"Is there a problem?"

"Err… No… but it's three in the afternoon."

Mom gave Schnee her 'I don't give a poop about what your saying' face. "If you want I could go change and postpone this urgent meeting for another twenty minuets."

"No! It's fine… I'm good."

The twins snickered beside Eclipse. "I came here to talk to you about the kidnappings." Eclipse held her breath. "As a detective you may have already noticed that most of them were between age thirteen and sixteen." Dad nodded. "But… Neptune noticed another pattern today. They were all either registered or proven unregistered Faunus."

The twins gave Eclipse a worried look. No doubt they were staring at her cat ears. Eclipse was definitely _not_ going to school this year. All because of her heritage. But then Schnee changed all that. "I know you think it's not safe to send your kids to school this year." She said, "But right now I think the schools are the safest places for them to be."

 _Yes, yes, YES!_ Grinned Eclipse. She was going to Sanctum! She listened excitedly as Schnee explained the things she needed to do to attend. She would need a weapon. Check! Demontail. Her whip. And a spare gun, of course. Most people now carried multiple weapons instead of a gadget that transformed. She'd need an entry form. Check! Schnee had already given two of them to her parents. And finally, she'd need a selected outfit to wear in combat. Check. She had made one a month ago.

Eclipse left her listening place and rushed to her brother's room. She pounded on the door. "Midnight!" She called, "Hey, Midnight!"

"You know, Eclipse, there's a sign on the door. I think you should read it."

Eclipse didn't bother. She already knew it said 'Do Not Disturb'. "It's more important than a stupid sign!" She shouted, "Let me come in!"

"No."

Eclipse opened the door anyway. "You need a lock or something." She told Midnight. He was sitting on his bed, reading a book. "I've got great news!"

"What?" He asked flatly.

Eclipse grabbed him by the arms and jumped up and down. "We're going to Sanctum this year!" Then she frowned. "You don't look exited."

"I… am." He looked unconvinced when he said that. "It's just… I didn't really care about going this year. I thought we were staying here."

"Well, professor Schnee insists we go."

"She's here? In our house?" He looked at the door and saw the twins. His face gained a few shades of red. "Oh, um. Hi."

The twins entered. "We were never properly introduced." Said the girl. "My name's Sapphire, and this is my trusty sidekick, Frost."

"Sidekick?" Asked Frost.

Sapphire wrapped an arm around his shoulder and pulled his cheek. "Of course, what else would you be?"

"I don't know. Your brother?"

"You're my little twin brother sidekick. I'm just too lazy to say the whole thing."

"Can't I be your equal partner?" Frost pleaded. Sapphire pretended to think it over. "Nope." She answered, "I don't think so." Eclipse was seriously starting to like Sapphire. It was as if they had matching personalities. Plus Eclipse would have totally pulled on Midnight's cheek and called him _her_ sidekick.

Sapphire let go of Frost and he rubbed his check. Eclipse smiled causing him to blush. "Well, as you already know, I'm Eclipse." She pulled Midnight off his bed and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "And this is _my_ sidekick, Midni-" He punched her in the stomach.

"If anyone's a sidekick it's you." He said without a single hint of emotion. He spoke like that all the time; straight face, emotionless and with a slightly deep voice. "Okay." Eclipse wheezed. She noticed the look on Frost's face. It said his thoughts outright. _Should I have done that too?_

After a while Eclipse, Midnight and the twins were called into the living room. Mom told her what was going to happen. She and Midnight were going to Sanctum. They were instructed to stay in contact, be safe and stick with each other. Eclipse hardly heard anything her mom said. She was too busy daydreaming about the years ahead of her. She would be the best. Try her hardest. She was so exited that she almost jumped right through the ceiling!

So when the day came that she and Midnight boarded the aircraft for school, she waved good-bye and didn't look back.

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Eclipse's heart was pounding so hard as the aircraft landed on the school grounds. She wanted to push past all the other students and rush to the gates. Finally she stepped onto the marble pathway. She speed walked to the gates, only stopping to look up at the magnificent building before her. Midnight came and stood beside her. "You know, you're standing right where people need to walk." He said, grabbing her arm and pulling her to a large water fountain in the middle of the school grounds.

"Now what?" He asked.

Eclipse didn't get to answer before someone shouted her name. "Eclipse!" Called Sapphire from the end of a pathway to her left. "Hey Eclipse!"

"I gotta go." Eclipse told Midnight. "I'll catch up with you later!"

"But-"

Eclipse left before he could finish. Her first day here and she had already made a friend. Two if she decided to count Frost. This was a good start to an even better year!

"Welcome to Sanctum!" Said Sapphire. "I promise this year will be the best one ever."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: The Cat and The Thief**

Midnight's legs felt numb. He couldn't believe Eclipse had just walked off without him. He didn't know where he was supposed to go and there was no way he was going to ask any of these intellectual school freaks.

"Hey." Said a voice behind him. He turned to see a girl standing behind him. She had a darker skin tone than his. She had short, dark green hair and startling ruby-red eyes. She wore a grey and green combat suit with grey gloves that reached half way to her elbows. "You new?" she asked.

"Yeah."

"Cool." She began walking in circles around Midnight as if inspecting him. "So you're a Faunus then, huh." She remarked. "And you've got both cat ears _and_ a tail. But your tail isn't _all_ cat though, is it." She grabbed his tail in order to look at it more closely. "Hey!" Midnight yelled. He pulled his tail away. "That actually hurts, you know."

"Sorry." She apologized, "But it's not every day you meet a Cross-Species Faunus."

"Cross-Species Faunus?" Midnight asked.

"Yeah. I noticed that you carry your tail differently than any other Faunus with cat's tails. They let their tails swish behind them, but yours doesn't do that. So that means your tail has more muscles. So I concluded that you'd be able to hang by your tail. Now, bats hang by their tails but the only Faunus with bat genes have wings and, or large ears or fangs, even. So the only other animal your tail could come from is a monkey. So you have black cat ears and the colour must have gone into your tail. You have the genes of two different animals, which makes you a Cross-Species Faunus! You know, it's kind of a new thing."

Midnight stared at her. "Well, had my educational rant for today! See ya!" She walked away. Midnight suddenly got a strange felling in his stomach. Something was wrong. It had something to do with that girl but what was it? Then he broke into a smile as he realized what it was.

Using his cat-like ability to walk without making a sound, Midnight snuck up behind the girl and, with nimble fingers grabbed his wallet out of her pocket. _She's pretty good._ He thought to himself. _But I'm better._ He watched her as she made her way to a vending machine outside the main door. She decided on an orange flavoured soda and reached for her pocket. He enjoyed the surprised look on her face when she discovered his wallet was gone.

Midnight grinned and waved it in the air when she looked back at him. She strode over. "Well _that_ doesn't happen every day." She said in an impressed tone. She snatched the wallet out of Midnights hands. "It's not to often someone steals _my_ wallet."

She ran off at top speed. And Midnight chased after her.

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Fern made it pretty far before she began to lose her breath. Just her luck. Stealing from a fellow thief. How did he do that without her noticing? Then again, she was a bit out of practice.

She looked behind her but didn't see him. She stopped and collapsed under a tree in the garden. "Few," She sighed, "Lost him." She looked down at the wallet in her hands. A name was neatly printed along the bottom seam.

 **MIDNIGHT WUKONG**

So his name was Midnight. Sure suited him. She was about to open the wallet when something swung down out of the tree and snatched it from her hands. She looked up to see Midnight sitting cross-legged on the branch above her. He checked through his wallet then smiled down at her. "Now it's your turn to chase _me_."

He leaped off the branch and ran back the way they'd come. Fern didn't know why, but she got up despite her low stamina and ran after him.

She eventually found him sitting on top of the vending machine. "Catch." He called down. He threw something down at her and she caught it. A can of orange soda. "Why?" She asked him.

"I had enough for two. And you looked out of breath."

"But I stole from you. Why would you buy something for me after that?"

He shrugged. "Why not?"

He jumped down. He opened the can and took a sip. "My name's Midnight." He said, holding out his hand.

"Fern." Fern replied, shaking it. "Fern Black. And I think it's time to head to the main hall. Don't want to be late for the big speech. You know Dorothy Ozpin is doing it this year." She and Midnight climbed the steps to the door. She glanced at him when they entered. For the first time since she'd come to Sanctum, she wondered if it was worth it to call him a friend.

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"Are _all_ the big beginning of the year speeches that intense?" Eclipse asked.

"Not really." Sapphire replied, "I mean every year they get a new special guest to do it but whenever Miss Ozpin does it…" She shivered and made a disgusted sound. "Mom said Miss Ozpin's uncle was like that too."

"Kind of makes Beacon sound like a serious place." Frost put in, "You know she's the headmaster there. She'll be giving speeches like that every year, or maybe more often than that!"

Eclipse decided it was time to change the subject. "So what do we do now?" She asked.

"Head to the dorms, get unpacked, pick up this year's uniforms, free time until curfew!" Sapphire exclaimed excitedly.

"Okay then, let's-"

A chorus of high-pitched screams cut off Eclipse mid-sentence! "What happened?" She asked Sapphire, "Is someone hurt?"

"Run!" Frost cried. He and Sapphire grabbed Eclipse's arms and ran as a stampede of screaming girls rounded the corner. Eclipse realized that if they didn't get out of the way soon, they would be trampled flat. Sapphire and Frost pulled her around a corner and the stampede of girls thundered past.

"What was that all about?" Eclipse asked.

Sapphire and Frost sighed. "You'll see." They told her. She fallowed them to the end of the corridor, which opened up to another hallway. They waited at the corner. Soon Eclipse heard thudding footsteps and girly screams. When they got closer they began counting down. "Five, four, three, two, ONE!"

On 'one' they reached out and pulled someone into the corridor, and a split second later the mass of screaming girls ran straight past them! The guy they grabbed stumbled over and landed on top of Eclipse.

She smacked into the floor. The guy on top of her groaned. "Sorry." He stood and held out his hand to help her up. Eclipse's heart seemed to flutter when she looked up at him. He was _drop dead GORGEOUS!_ No wonder all those girls were after him!

He had bright red hair that complemented his vivid-green eyes. He wore a black hooded jacket that was red on the inside and at the bottom and the ends of the sleeves. He also wore brown pants, gloves and reddish-brown boots. He also had a golden-brown scarf tied around his neck. Eclipse stuttered. "U-um th-thanks. I mean um-"

"It's alright. Happens a lot." He smiled at her with perfect teeth. "Name's Crimson." He told her.

"Uh, Eclipse." She answered.

"Not you too." Sapphire groaned, "Why does every single girl think he's so great?"

"Because I'm not just great." Crimson grinned, "I'm also amazing, brilliant, hot, adorable, smart, athletic, heart throbbing. You should see the list they made."

"And now there's a list?" Frost complained.

"And a T-shirt." Crimson added.

"Wait." Eclipse interrupted, "You have a _fan club?"_

"No, the _girls_ have a fan club. _I_ have a pain in my neck!" He turned to Frost and Sapphire. "Well, thanks anyway."

"No problem." Sapphire sighed. "But, to make up for our loss of time, Crimson, you're getting all of us lunch."

Crimson groaned. "Fine. But you eat like elephants. You honestly expect me to carry everything to the roof?"

"I could help you!" Eclipse blurted. "Uh, I mean, it's not a problem, really."

Sapphire rolled her eyes. "Well, if that's the way it's gonna be for the next two years, nothing I can do about it. See you on the roof."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter three: Two Months Later**

Eclipse had never eaten in the cafeteria. She and her friends had always taken their food to the roof and eaten there. But today the roof was under renovation. Now Eclipse was going to eat in a large room with loud people and no personal space.

"It'll be fine." Crimson assured her. "Doesn't your brother always eat there? When was the last time you actually talked to him?"

"Oh yeah," Said Sapphire next to him. "I kind of forgot you had a brother."

Eclipse hadn't talked to Midnight since she left him standing by the water fountain. She'd only seen him two or three times since then. She'd pointed him out to her friends at an assembly once. That was the only reason they knew about him. "Yeah. Maybe I should find him. I just realized… that I'm actually kind of worried. I don't know how he's been over the past two months. Knowing the kind of person he is, he probably shut everyone out and tried to figure things out on his own. Gosh, does he even have friends?"

Frost shrugged. "No point in just talking about it. I'm starving! Let's get food already!" He reached for the doors but was blown backwards when someone smashed into them from the inside, throwing them open.

Eclipse stared at the mayhem before her. All the kids were cheering "Fight, fight, fight, fight!" And some were throwing food. But most were standing on the tables and chairs and looking to the centre of the cafeteria.

"Hey." Eclipse tapped one of them on the arm. "Have you seen a Faunus with black hair, cat ears and a tail? His name's Midnight."

"Midnight Wukong?" The boy asked.

"Yes, that's him!"

"He's over there." He pointed towards the action.

Eclipse and her friends pushed their way through the crowd. _Midnight._ She thought, _Poor Midnight, some guy's probably beating him up! I must get him out of there! I have to-_

Eclipse reached the open space in the centre just in time to see a rather large guy fly into a table from someone's fist! The kid then punched another guy and flung him into the first one. "All right!" He yelled, "Which one of you pea brains is next?" Eclipse's eyes nearly popped out of her head. The kid doing the punching was Midnight.

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Eclipse couldn't believe what she was seeing. Her completely anti-social brother was taking on a gang of the biggest students she had ever seen by himself in front of a crowd!

One of them ran at Midnight and he leaped over his head. The guy stumbled to a stop. Midnight landed and kicked him in the back, sending him flying into the wall!

"Midnight?" Eclipse asked. He looked over at her and the crazy grin vanished from his face. Seeing her must have distracted him because two of the guys tackled him and pinned him on the floor. "Got you now." One of them said. Midnight struggled but their weight must have been too much. "Time to pay." The other big guy growled.

Suddenly some of the kids across the room began yelling, "Look out!" and "Out of the way!" as a girl with dark green hair came running on top of the tables towards Midnight. She leaped off the table and came down on the two big guys. "Two on two!" She yelled, slamming her feet down on their foreheads and pushing them into the floor.

The new girl helped Midnight to his feet. She turned to the big guys and cracked her knuckles. "Now what kind of person picks on an innocent little girl and beats up the guy who's decent enough to stick up for her?" She grinned. "You, huh? Well then, be prepared for my fist to meat your face."

"Wait!" A girl stepped in front of them. She had brown hair that fell down a bit past her shoulders. She had deep brown eyes and had extremely cute, floppy rabbit ears. "It's okay guys." She said, "I think they've had enough. I'm alright." She turned to face the big guys. "Hope you learned your lesson!" She growled, puffing out her cheeks.

The guy in front, who seemed to be the leader, grabbed the Faunus girl's ears and lifted her off the ground. "Hope you did too." He said.

Before Midnight and the other girl could react an angry cry sounded from across the cafeteria. A kid about Midnight's age leaped onto the leader's shoulders and grabbed him by his hair. "You leave Hazel alone!" He yelled. The Faunus girl, who must have been Hazel, was dropped and the big guy grabbed the kid off his shoulders and flung him to the ground. "Flax!" Hazel cried. Eclipse felt someone push past her. Crimson was joining the fight by hammering the big guy in the jaw with his fist!

Crimson turned to the kid. "Flaxen." He said, "You okay?"

The kid shook his head and looked up. "Crimson?" He asked. They knew each other? The kid, Flaxen, had blonde hair and the same vivid-green eyes as Crimson.

One of the other big guys slammed his palm down on Crimson's shoulder. There was a clear _thunk_ sound and Crimson cried out in pain. A whistle blew from across the cafeteria. The teachers had finally come to break up the fight.

"Time to split!" The green haired girl yelped. She grabbed Hazel and Flaxen and sped out of the room with Midnight right behind her. Once they were gone a crowd of Crimson's fan girls began swarming him. Eclipse, Sapphire and Frost couldn't do much but watch as the teachers tried to straighten things out.

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"This might hurt." Mrs Mogoose said. She was Sanctum's nurse. Eclipse looked down at Crimson and let him grip her hand. He took a deep breath. "I'm ready." He said. Mrs Mogoose gently placed her hand on his dislocated shoulder. "On three." She said. "One, THREE!" She shoved Crimson's shoulder back into its socket. "AUGH!" He yelled squeezing Eclipse's hand so hard it might have cut off her circulation. "What about two?" He asked loudly.

"Sorry. It worked better that way."

Mrs Mogoose gave Crimson a sling for his arm so he could keep his shoulder steady and a note excusing him from almost every physical activity for the next few days.

He sighed. "It could have been worse." He said to Eclipse. Eclipse didn't answer. She felt her face turn red with the realization that he was still holding her hand.

She quickly pulled away. "Let's get back to the others." Eclipse opened the door and found herself facing a horde of screaming fan girls. Crimson darted forward and slammed the door shut. "How do you feel about jumping out a window?" He asked.

"Cats always land on their feet." Eclipse reminded him. They quickly made their way to the window and leaped into the branches of the tree below. As luck would have it, Eclipse lost her balance and tumbled to the ground, pulling Crimson with her.

They had a soft landing. Eclipse looked down at the kid she was sitting on. "Thanks." She said.

"My back." He groaned. Eclipse stood and helped him get up. "Hey!" She exclaimed, recognizing him. "You're-"

"Flax!" Cried Crimson, gripping him by the shoulder. "Where have you been all this time? How am I supposed to tell Mom how you're doing if I can't even find you?"

"Mom?" Eclipse wondered out loud.

"Oh yeah." Grinned Crimson, snapping his fingers. "Guess I didn't tell you. Eclipse, this is my little brother, Flaxen. Flax, this is my friend Eclipse."

Eclipse felt her heart sink at the way he said 'friend'. He said it so easily, like he didn't picture her as anything else.

"Flax!" Called a familiar voice. Hazel came running from across the field. "Flax! There you are!" She hugged him and his face went red. Eclipse didn't need any more signs. Flaxen obviously liked Hazel more than he could say. When Hazel let go of him she looked up at Crimson. "Ohmygosh!" She cried, her cheeks turning an alarming shade of pink. "You're Crimson!" She took his free hand in both of hers. "You're so much more gorgeous up close!" Crimson's face went as pink as hers.

An expression of jealousy flashed across Flaxen's face. The first thought that popped into Eclipse's mind was _oh, great._ Flaxen was in love with Hazel, who had a crush on his brother. This was going to get really annoying really fast.

"Flax, Hazel!" The girl with green hair was standing across the field with Midnight. She honestly didn't look good in the school uniform. It didn't suit her. And Midnight obviously didn't like the uniform. His tie was loose, his jacket was rumpled and undone and his shirt was un-tucked.

Hazel let go of Crimson and took hold of Flaxen's arm. Pulling him along, she skipped over to them. Eclipse followed, eager to talk to Midnight. She ran over to him and reached to grab hold of his arms. He stepped to the side and she tripped, landing on her face. "Class is going to start soon." He said to Flaxen and Hazel. "We should get going."

Crimson bent down to help Eclipse to her feet as they walked away. "Midnight!" She called. He ignored her. "Midnight!" She repeated jogging after them. He responded by glaring at her and she stopped. Was he mad at her? Eclipse hadn't done anything. What was his problem? It was like he was a completely different person.

"Midnight?" Eclipse whispered. "Why…" She watched him walk away. And she suddenly felt very alone.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four: A Crimson Background**

"Hey… Eclipse?" Sapphire asked. "Are you all right? You've hardly eaten in the past few days."

Eclipse moved a lettuce leaf around her plate with her fork, hardly listening. She couldn't stop thinking about Midnight. She was worried about him. What if his new friends were the reason he was acting differently? He had always been so quiet before. He had never been in a fight. Eclipse was always keeping him away from the kids who tried to hurt him. Eclipse had always gotten in fights to protect him. But now…

"Eclipse." Sapphire repeated, waving her hand in Eclipse's face. "Earth to Eclipse! Are you okay?"

Eclipse sighed and explained what had happened and told them what had just gone through her head.

Frost spoke up first. "Did you ever consider… that he can stick up for himself now? This _is_ a school that teaches kids how to fight."

"No. I didn't." Eclipse admitted. "But… Midnight acted the opposite of the way he's always done. He didn't even let me talk to him."

"Maybe he grew up." Said Crimson.

"What do you mean by that?" Eclipse asked.

"Eclipse, the way you've always described Midnight to us makes him sound like he's five years old. You make him sound like a little kid who's always been afraid of everything. He sounded like he was a loner who didn't have any friends because he was weak. Then I actually sort of met him and he seemed like he was a lot stronger than you always thought. I know he's your little brother… but he's only a year younger than you. He doesn't need to be looked after any more."

"How could you say that?" Eclipse yelled.

"Eclipse." Crimson's voice was harsher this time. "Did you ever ask him how he felt about how you thought of him?"

"N-no."

"You need to let him live how he wants to. Maybe he came out of his shell because you stopped looking after him. Maybe the guy who gets in fights and gets in trouble is the person he really is."

"You're wrong! That's not who he is. I know him better than anyone else. If you ask me, those new friends of his are a bad influence on him! I bet he's only acting like that to blend in! Those kids are the exact kind of people I had to fight with to protect him. They were all enemies to me! And if I have to get into another fight then so be it. I'll fight them all until they leave him alone!"

Eclipse froze realizing what she had just said. "Crimson… I… I didn't mean…"

"Are you saying… that my brother is your enemy?"

"No, I-"

"Forget it!" Crimson stood and left the table without finishing his dinner.

"Well, Eclipse." Said Sapphire. "You're going to have to figure out how to apologise for that before he stops talking to you."

Eclipse didn't want Crimson to do that. She ran after him. Eclipse finally found him sitting on the edge of the water fountain. He was looking at a projected screen coming from a watch-like thing around his wrist. He slid his finger across it, changing the picture. "Crimson?" She asked. He said nothing. But he didn't move away either. She sat down next to him.

"Listen." Eclipse said. "I'm really sorry. I didn't mean what I said about Flaxen. I was angry and I didn't realize what I was saying until after I said it." Crimson remained quiet.

Eclipse didn't have anything else to say so she looked at the pictures on the touch-screen. She remembered Crimson taking that picture. She, Sapphire and Frost had been sitting in a row on the edge of the roof as the sun was setting and Crimson had taken a picture of them.

The pictures all had dates on them and, as Crimson flipped through them, they got older. Eclipse saw one from the beginning of the year and one of Crimson and Flax sitting on a park bench with a little ginger haired kid who was about three or four. The three of them were eating ice cream and someone else had obviously taken the picture. The date was the day before school started.

"Who's the little one?" Eclipse asked, not expecting to get an answer.

"Saffron." Came the reply. "Flaxen… isn't my only brother."

"He's kind of cute." Eclipse said. Crimson smiled a little. "If you don't mind me asking," Eclipse said gently, "Why do you take all those pictures?"

"Because they calm me down." He answered. "Whenever I'm stressed or angry or upset… I just look at them and I feel better. I think it's because I start concentrating on my best memories."

"And it actually works?"

Crimson nodded. He kept sliding his finger across the screen. Faster and faster. Eclipse grabbed his hand before he could do it again when he reached a family photo from almost four years ago. "Crimson?" She asked. "Why haven't you ever told me about your family before?"

He shrugged. "I guess it never came up." Eclipse pulled his arm in front of her so she could see the picture. Crimson must have been about eleven which made Flaxen about ten. In the picture Saffron was only a baby. Behind Flaxen stood a man with the same blonde hair as him. He had stubble on his face and deep blue eyes. On his right was an extremely beautiful woman. If she wasn't Crimson's mom, then she wasn't anyone. She had the same hair, eyes and gentle smile. Baby Saffron was asleep in her arms. But it wasn't her resemblance to Crimson that Eclipse was startled by. She recognized her.

"Crimson, your mother…"

"I know."

"But she's-"

"I _know._ " He seemed tired of hearing about it. Eclipse understood why he never talked about his family.

"Don't get me wrong." He said. "She's a great mom. But whenever her identity comes up… people stop treating me normally. I've always hated it."

Eclipse stared at him. "I'm not gonna do that." She promised. "I'm not going to treat you differently because your mother is famous. I mean Sapphire and Frost's mother is pretty famous too."

"Thanks." Crimson smiled.

"But seriously, what's it like when your mom's a world famous athlete?"

Crimson raised an eyebrow. "Not that different actually. Just think of it as her job. She always comes home and still has time for us. The only downside is, we can't go anywhere with her unless we want billions of cameras flashing on our faces."

"Not to go back on what I said about treating you differently, but I'm a really big fan of your mom!"

Crimson laughed. "Who isn't?"

"I've always wanted to meet her! I mean she's on cereal boxes! Who doesn't want to meat a star athlete?"

"You know what's ironic about that?" Crimson grinned and shut off his screen. "I've always _hated_ Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes."

Eclipse giggled. "You know, when I first saw Pyrrah Nikos on TV, I never would have guessed I'd end up friends with her son."

Crimson stood. "I don't think you even knew she had kids." He extended a hand to Eclipse. "Come on. Let's go finish eating. And tomorrow… I'm going to ask Flax to ask Midnight to talk to you. So you can find out what's going on between you. You're siblings. You shouldn't be apart."

Eclipse took his hand. "Thank you, Crimson."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five: From Midnight's Point of View**

Midnight sat in the apple tree at the back of the school. It was a Saturday. The tree was his special hiding place. Only Fern knew that when he disappeared he could be found in its branches.

Midnight was lost in the thought of his sister. _She ignores me for two months and suddenly thinks that she can talk to me and everything will be normal between us?_ Midnight stared at the line of trees several yards away from the path below the apple tree. It marked the edge of school grounds. Beyond it was an enormous forest. He, Fern, Flax and Hazel had gone in there once or twice. But never too far.

"Midnight?"

Midnight was startled out of his thoughts. He looked down to see Eclipse starring up at him with her big amber eyes. _How'd she find me?_

"I don't think your friend with green hair like's me very much but she told me you might be here."

 _Fern told her? But she said she would never tell anyone._

"Sorry, Midnight." Fern came and stood next to Eclipse. "Flax and Hazel gave me puppy eyes. I couldn't say no to them."

Midnight jumped down and landed in front of Eclipse. "Midnight…" Eclipse spoke in an apologetic tone. "I need you to tell me what's wrong. You've been acting weird."

"Acting weird?" Hazel and Flax came around the corner followed by a red haired boy and Schnee's twins. Hazel frowned. "He hasn't been acting weird. He's always just been himself."

Eclipse looked shocked and hurt. "Listen." She said, "I know you better than anyone else! I know something's wrong. Just talk to me, Midnight. Tell me what's going on." She reached to give him a hug like she had always done when he was scared or upset. Midnight darted out of the way and Eclipse wrapped her arms around a shadow decoy. She spun around in surprise when it disappeared. "You've got… Mom's Semblance!"

Midnight said nothing. He knew there was nothing wrong with him. It was Eclipse who had the problem!

"You're wrong." He said finally. "You don't know me. You really haven't ever known me, Eclipse." He turned and began walking towards the forest. Eclipse wasn't a rule breaker. She wouldn't follow him out of bounds.

"Midnight, wait! What do you mean? Of course I know you! You're my brother!" Eclipse grabbed him by the shoulder. He stopped walking. He might have actually tried to work things out with her if she hadn't said, "It's Fern, isn't it? She's a bad influence on you. You need to stay away from her."

"I'm right here you know." Fern growled.

"How could you even say something like that?" Midnight yelled, turning and slapping Eclipse's hand from his shoulder. "Fern is my friend! And one of my _only_ friends, no thanks to you!"

"No thanks to me? What are you talking about?"

"You always got into fights back when we lived in Vacuo! You always beat up the kids who even came near me! And you justified it by telling me you were protecting me?"

"But I _was_ protecting you! Those guys were bad news! You would only have ended up getting hurt!"

"They were nice people! And because of you, they got scared! They were so afraid of you that they never gave me a second glance! 'Oh, don't go near that Faunus with the black hair. He's got a really strong sister who'll beat you up if you try to talk to him'! I wanted friends, Eclipse! And you never let me have any! Never!"

"Midnight…" Eclipse's eyes widened. "I'm… so sorry."

"Don't apologise to me. It's to late. We don't even live in Vacuo any more." Midnight turned again and ran straight into the forest. He didn't stop until he'd reached the checkpoint. A little yellow popsicle stick that marked how far he and his friends had gone into the forest.

Midnight collapsed under a large oak tree by a clearing and sat with his legs pulled to his chest and his forehead resting on his knees. He began crying. _I'm not a scared little kitten any more!_ He tried to convince himself. _I shouldn't cry. I'm strong!_

"Midnight." It was Fern. She was kneeling next to him with Flax and Hazel behind her. "You're… crying."

"No." Midnight wiped the water from his eyes.

"It's all right. Just let it out. I won't judge you."

"No. I'm fine, really. Thanks Fern."

Hazel smiled. "Midnight. I promise the three of us will always be there for you."

"Us isn't us unless there's four." Flax put in.

Fern slapped Midnight on the back. "Now get up, Midnight. We have a moustache to draw on the statue in front of the school!"

Midnight stood with help from Fern. Before he even took a step, he froze. He was being watched. He looked around and saw nothing, but he could hear it. Something was watching them. He heard a rustle in a tree across the clearing.

Something brownish flew out of the tree and zoomed towards Hazel! Midnight pushed her out of the way and expected the thing to hit him but instead he felt it wrap around him. He fell to the ground. Midnight realized the thing that had him was a large net. Someone had fired it from the tree.

If Midnight stayed wrapped up like that, he wouldn't be able to reach Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang! Fern pulled her guns from the back of her belt and pointed them at the tree. Flax drew his sword. Hazel pulled her hilt of her belt. The light extended and solidified into a one handed sword.

Midnight heard more rustling and several more nets were fired. Fern and Hazel were able to dodge but one of them got Flax. Eight men dropped out of the trees. They all had masks and hoods over their faces. One of them dropped behind Hazel and grabbed her from behind, covering her mouth with a gloved hand. Fern didn't appear to know who to point her guns at.

Midnight struggled to get out of the net. He felt someone grab hold of it near his feet and he was dragged along the ground. He was handed off to another man, who was also holding onto the net that had trapped Flax.

One of the men spoke. "We waited so long for you kids to travel out of bounds again. Now how 'bout we do this the easy way." He grinned at Fern and pulled a gun from his belt. He pointed it at Flax. "Drop your weapons, young lady, or I will fire."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter six: Capture**

Fern reluctantly slid her guns back into their pouches on the back of her belt. She wanted to fight these guys, but she didn't want Flax to die either. One of the men grabbed her arms. And the man lowered his gun. Then Fern noticed it. Flax's sword lying on the ground where he dropped it. And Flax's hand slowly reaching for the hilt.

Flax grabbed hold of it and in one swing the blade sliced through the ropes of Midnight's net! He sprang free and pulled his weapon from its hiding place under his jacket. It unfolded into a red bo staff and he hit one of the men over the head with it. Fern slammed her elbow into the ribs of the man holding her and Midnight tackled the man holding Hazel. Flax cut himself out of his net and joined the fight. Hazel swung her sword at one of the men.

Fern pulled out her guns again and fired knocking down two of them. She had to admit though; Midnight did more work than anyone. He was so agile he was hard to keep track of. He got behind the men and knocked them unconscious with several swift blows to their heads and chests.

Fern and her friends held them off for only a few minutes. But then the Bullhead aircraft descended out of the sky and destroyed every chance they had of escaping.

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Eclipse was halfway to the cafeteria when she heard gunfire. Crimson stopped, startled. "You heard that too right?" Everyone nodded. The four of them sprinted to the weaponry. Eclipse couldn't help thinking it would have been much faster if they carried their weapons at all times like Midnight and his friends.

By the time they stepped outside again a strong wind had picked up. Eclipse looked to her left. A Bullhead was visible above the treetops. Eclipse watched as it descended into the forest. Crimson was the first to move. Eclipse wondered for a moment if it was someone important coming to see the headmaster, but then she realized… Midnight and his friends had gone into the forest over there. And an important person wouldn't have landed in the forest. Eclipse took off after Crimson.

Once they came near the clearing Eclipse signalled to be quiet. They hid behind the trees and watched. Several men jumped out of the Bullhead before it landed. Eclipse saw Midnight and his friends take defensive stance. Their weapons were drawn. Two of the men raised what looked like straws to their lips and blew something out of them. Eclipse watched in horror as the things shot out of the straws hit Midnight and Hazel and they fell over, unconscious. The men advanced while the others were distracted. Flaxen and Fern were pinned down.

Eclipse wanted to attack but Sapphire grabbed her arm and signalled to wait. Eclipse listened to the conversation the men had. "What should we do with the humans?" The one tying Flaxen's arms behind his back asked. "Should we kill them?" Crimson shuddered.

"I say we leave them here. They don't have crucial information. The kidnappings are already all over the news anyway."

 _Kidnappers?_ An internal alarm went off in Eclipse's head.

"No." A man who was at least six inches taller than the others lifted Fern by her hair. "Bring them. These four seem to be… friends. Maybe having these two will make the others more cooperative." He grinned. "Load them into the Bullhead. And kill the unconscious. The police will come. We can't allow them to be interrogated. They won't fit in the Bullhead with all of us."

"Now!" Crimson drew an arrow out of his quiver and fired at the men! Frost drew his rapier and Sapphire pulled out her gun. "Crimson!" Eclipse could hear the relief in Flaxen's voice.

"Take the captives now!" The tall man yelled. He shoved fern into another man's arms. Eclipse swung Demontail back and fourth, clearing a path for her to get to the Bullhead. She could hear her friends fighting behind her. Eclipse moved faster as the Bullhead began taking off! The men shot wires from devices on their wrists, attaching to the Bullhead. Eclipse lunged at the open door of the aircraft! If she could get inside, she could shut it down. Something hit the side of her neck.

Eclipse suddenly couldn't feel her body. She went limp and the world became dark.

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Crimson's arm was in a sling again. He had strained it firing arrows. He sat on a stool in the hospital wing between two beds, waiting for his friends to wake up. Sapphire was kneeling next to the bed on his left. Frost had been incredibly unlucky.

The men had managed to kill almost all of their unconscious comrades. One of them had woken up and struck Frost from behind. Other than a blow to the head, he had no serious injuries. But Sapphire was covered in scrapes and bruises. Crimson hadn't seen that many since Flax tried to ride a bike for the first time. And Eclipse… She looked like she was asleep. Some kind of dart had hit her in the neck.

Eclipse groaned. She opened her eyes and looked over at Crimson. "What happened?" She asked, "Did you beat them?"

Crimson thought about lying to her but what good would that do? He shook his head slowly. "They… got away. And they took them. Fern, Hazel… Flax… and Midnight."

"No…" Eclipse's eyes began to fill with tears. Crimson wanted to cry too. He had always promised to look out for Flax. And now he was gone. Crimson couldn't imagine what Eclipse must have been going through. She'd just been in a fight with her brother and then right after, he was kidnapped.

"Don't worry, Eclipse." Sapphire said. "We'll get them back. All of them."

"I… can't believe… that's what he thought of me… all this time." Eclipse looked completely heartbroken. Crimson squeezed her hand. "I can't apologize… he's gone…"

After Frost woke up, it was an hour before they got out of the hospital wing. Eclipse was still in shock of what happened. As soon as Crimson stepped out into the hall a mass of screaming girls swarmed him. _Crap._ He thought. _I am not in the mood for this!_

They were all asking him questions so fast he couldn't understand what they were saying. Crimson looked behind him. He couldn't jump out the window this time. "Come on Crimson." Sapphire whispered. "Make them go away!"

"One at a time!" Crimson yelled! The girls went quiet.

"Crimson, what happened?" A girl with blonde, braided hair asked. "You're all beat up!"

"Crimson, please don't answer all their questions!" Frost pleaded.

Eclipse slid her hand into Crimson's. She wanted to get out of there. All the girls looked eager. There was no way Crimson was getting past them without giving them an answer.

"Listen…" He said to the crowd. "Please, can you save your questions for later? I'm just… not really able to answer right now. I don't even know if I'm allowed to share certain information with you."

A loud burst of 'what's and 'why's blew into Crimson's ears. Thankfully he was saved by an announcement over the PA. "Would the following students please proceed to the headmaster's office? Eclipse Wukong. Frost Vasilias. Sapphire Vasilias. Crimson Arc. Thank you."

Crimson took the opportunity while the girls were wondering why he'd been called to the office and ran, pulling Eclipse with him. They didn't stop until they reached the office doors. Crimson gave Eclipse, Sapphire and Frost a moment to breath before knocking.

"Come in." Called Mrs Criserson. She was a middle-aged woman with tidy brown hair. She wore reading glasses and had a very angular face.

"I'm sure you kids are still in a bit of shock." She said. "But I do have a few questions I would like to ask you."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven: Escape**

Midnight ached all over. He lifted his hand to his neck, where it hurt most. He blinked and wondered if he was only imagining blinking. It was just as dark with his eyes closed, as it was when they were open. He knew perfectly well he should have been able to see in the dark. Perhaps he would have to wait a bit for his night vision to kick in.

Midnight tried to stand up but his head smacked against something metal. He groaned and fell back again. "Midnight?" A small voice asked. "Is that you?"

Midnight looked to his left, despite not being able to see anything. "Hazel?" He asked into the darkness. He reached for her but his hand touched metal. A vertical metal bar. He was inside a cage. He felt a small hand touch his. Midnight's eyes finally adjusted when his vision cleared and he could see. Hazel was locked in a cage next to his. Her cheeks were wet with tears and she looked completely traumatized.

"Midnight, where are we?"

"Well we're not at school, that's for sure!" Midnight was startled by a voice above him.

"Fern?" He asked. But it was more of a relieved statement. "That's you, right? Where's Flax?"

"I'm here." Flax groaned. His voice also seemed to come from above Midnight. But more to the left. Maybe above Hazel.

"I'm sorry, Hazel." Said Midnight. "I don't know where we are either."

Hazel sniffled. She was crying. "Hey," Said Midnight. He reached down to his ankle and pulled up his pant leg, revealing a black ribbon tied in a bow around his ankle. Eclipse was the only other person who knew about it and its history. He untied it and handed it to Hazel. "Here." He said, "It was my mom's. I always thought of it as a good luck charm. Mom said it kept away unwanted attention, which often kept her out of harms way."

Hazel sniffled again and took the ribbon. Midnight didn't want to give it to her. Especially since doing something like that would make Flax jealous. He'd always had a _thing_ for Hazel. But Midnight didn't like hearing Hazel cry. He knew it would make her feel better.

There was a loud creak of metal and a blinding light shone into Midnight's face. He shielded his eyes. "Well, well, well." A deep voice boomed. "Finally awake, I see." Midnight stared at him through the bars of the cage. The man wore a mask and a hood pulled over his face. He lunged forward and slammed his palms into the bars of Hazel's cage. She squealed and moved back. The man laughed.

"Leave her alone!" Flax yelled. The man grinned and reached through the bars of Flax's cage, grabbing him by his neck. Flax choked.

"No one asked for you to speak, human." The man laughed, "I will enjoy torturing you until you beg for mercy."

 _He's calling Flax human._ Midnight thought. _He's… a Faunus!_

"Bardolph!" A woman's voice came from the doorway. She had a thin face and a pointed nose. Her eyes were a piercing gold colour and her black nails reminded Midnight of claws. She wore some kind of keypad on a strap round her wrist. "Play nice." She cooed, entering the room. Bardolph let go of Flax.

The woman bent down to look at Hazel. "A rabbit, huh? Don't have many uses for rabbits. All they do is run and hide." She reached through the bars, her claw-like hands stretching towards Hazel's face. Midnight thrust his hand through the bars of both cages and grabbed the woman's wrist! He wasn't going to let her hurt Hazel.

"A cat." The woman purred, without looking at him. "Now that's useful."

"What do you mean _useful?"_ Fern asked. The woman pulled her hand out of the cage and stood so she could see Fern.

"Bardolph, why did your men bring me two humans? I thought I made it clear that humans are the most useless of all creatures."

"My top man told me that these four are friends. He thought… maybe if we threatened the humans, they would be more… obedient."

"When exactly have I needed to threaten anyone to get my prisoners to follow orders?" The woman sounded angry.

"Well… never, Mistress. You have always been able to control them."

"So why does your _top man_ think I need to do that now?"

Bardolph remained silent, only moving after the woman said, "Kill him. Your henchman has failed me." After Bardolph had left the woman crouched down in front of Midnight. "I will come again to feed you, little kitten."

She closed the door and left the lights on. "That's it." Midnight said to his friends. "We're getting out of here."

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"Sure was lucky you decided to wear bobby pins in your hair today, Hazel." Fern said, quickly picking the lock on her cage. Midnight was doing the same in the cage below her. Flax and Hazel didn't know how to pick locks, so they would have to wait until she and Midnight were free.

Finally the lock sprung open and Fern pulled away the chain that held the door closed. Fern swung open the door and jumped down. When her feet hit the floor she heard Midnight's lock open as well. Fern began picking the lock on Hazel's cage wile Midnight looked for a way out.

"Found an escape rout." He called softly. Fern looked over at him. He was kneeling in front of a large vent. "Switch." He said. "I'll free them, you use your nails like screwdrivers and get that vent open."

"Why me?"

"Because you're not currently in a cage and you have longer nails than me."

"Fine." Fern used her thumbnail to get the screws out. Once Hazel was free, she came to help. Finally the vent was off. "Let's go!" Fern called.

"Don't move!" Bardolph was back. And he had a whole lot of other Faunus men and women behind him.

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Midnight struggled to open the lock. "Go now!" He yelled to Fern and Hazel. "I've got to get Flax out!" Fern and Hazel slipped through the vent just as the lock popped open.

Midnight turned and headed into combat with the other Faunus. He fought to keep them away from the vent so Flax could escape. Bardolph grabbed Midnight by his wrist and flung him against the opposite wall! Midnight was surprised he didn't break his neck.

One of the smaller Faunus reached into the vent. Midnight heard Flax yell in surprise and watched as he was dragged out by his ankle. Bardolph grabbed Flax by his hair and pulled him over to Midnight, who was lifted by the back of his jacket. "Glad _you_ didn't get away, kitty." Bardolph said. "You're the one Mistress wanted."


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight: Grimm Attack**

Eclipse sat on the bench at the police station. First the headmaster had hammered them with questions, like "What happened, what did the kidnappers look like, how old is your brother, is he a Faunus too, how many kids were taken?" Now the police were interrogating her friends.

"Eclipse!" Eclipse looked up to see her father standing in the entrance. He rushed over and wrapped her in a hug. "I got a call and I hoped it wasn't true." He let go and looked down at her with a distraught face. "Did they really… take Midnight?" Eclipse slowly nodded, struggling to keep herself from crying for the ten millionth time that day.

Her dad obviously couldn't find the words to comfort her. "Thank you for your time." An officer patted Crimson on the shoulder and pointed him in Eclipse's direction.

"What happened?" Eclipse asked him.

"They pretty much asked me the same questions the headmaster did."

"Same for me."

Eclipse's dad grunted. "Oh, right. Dad, this is my… friend, Crimson. Crimson, this is Dad."

"Hello sir."

"Yes, hello Crimson. I read the report and… I'm sorry about your brother. I just have a question for you." Crimson nodded and he continued. "Is your brother a Faunus?"

"What? No. He isn't. And neither am I."

"Hmm. Strange. The pattern is off."

Eclipse remembered what Schnee had told her parents. That all the kidnapped kids were Faunus. "Dad, Midnight's friend, Fern is human too." Her dad pulled out his Scroll and dialled a number on the phone app.

"Hello? Neptune? Yeah, it's me. The pattern is off. Two of the kids are human." He retreated outside so he could talk in private.

"What did he mean 'the pattern is off'?" Crimson asked.

"They noticed that all the kidnapped kids are Faunus." Eclipse told him. "But Flaxen and Fern are both human. It doesn't make sense."

"Sure it does." Sapphire was back. She joined them by the bench. "We heard them say that they took Flax and Fern because they wanted Midnight and Hazel to do something. They took them so they could threaten them."

"I hope that's the reason." Eclipse sighed. "Because I can think of others that aren't as painless."

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Fern crawled through the vent behind Hazel, only stopping when Hazel did. "Fern." Hazel whispered. "There's a room full of weapons below us. And I can see Midnight's staff! Your gun's are there too. All of our weapon's are down there!"

Hazel pushed the vent opening down and it clanged on the floor. They dropped down into the room. Fern took Midnight's staff, folded it up and clipped it onto her belt. She re-strapped her guns to the back of her belt as well.

Hazel took Flax's sword and her hilt. As soon as they had everything, they stacked the boxes and climbed back up into the vent. After several minutes of crawling around they finally reached a steep drop. Unsure of weather they would end up in a furnace or finally get out, they slid down.

Thankfully, the drop lead them to another opening, which got them outside. Fern gripped Hazel's hand as they ran until their lungs couldn't take any more. Behind them was the building they had just escaped, in front of them was an enormous forest.

"Only one way to go." Said Fern.

"But that forest is probably crawling with Grimm!" Hazel cried. "I don't know about you, but I'd rather not be Beowolf meat!"

"Over there!" The Faunus kidnappers were closing in on them.

"Well, if those guys are smart they don't want to be Beowolf meat either!" Fern grabbed Hazel's wrist and pulled her into the forest. "We can lose them in here!"

Fern was only barely right. The Faunus _did_ follow them into the forest, and Fern and Hazel _didn't_ lose them. At least not until an Ursa ate them. Fern and Hazel only avoided death because Fern slipped on mud and slid right underneath the Ursa, pulling Hazel with her! They didn't have time to look back to see what happened. They just kept running.

Fern knew she couldn't stop. But she wanted to. She wanted to stop and catch her breath. But she couldn't afford to do that. "Fern…" Hazel panted behind her. "Please, can we stop? We lost them. I don't think the Ursa's coming after us either."

Fern finally gave in. "Okay… we can stop." She and Hazel collapsed under a tree. Fern wasn't sure how long they stayed there. But it started raining after a bit. Fern didn't care. The rain would cover their footprints in the mud. After another few hours, Hazel fell asleep. She must have been exhausted.

Fern leaned her head back, staring at the treetops. They were completely lit up with glowing red eyes. Fern tapped Hazel awake. "Wha-" Fern covered Hazel's mouth without taking her eyes off the tree branches. "Little Nevermore." Hazel whispered. "I think they're babies."

"That doesn't change the bloodthirsty looks on their faces."

The Nevermore dove from the treetops and Fern grabbed Hazel, taking off at top speed. Fern could feel claws tearing at her arms and shoulders. She tried swatting at the Nevermore but it wasn't very effective. She and Hazel leaped over a large log to escape them. The Nevermore didn't stop attacking until Fern glimpsed the edge of the forest. She looked behind her to see if all of them were gone. The fear in her mind was suddenly amplified and her heart beat faster.

"Fern, they're gone! We can stop running now."

"No!" Fern yelled. "Don't look back, keep running!"

"What is it?"

Fern wasn't quite sure how to tell Hazel. "You know that log we jumped over?"

"What about it?"

"It's following us!" Fern glanced back. "Dodge left!" She cried. She pushed Hazel left and a giant snake head snapped its fangs around where they'd been only a second ago!

"King Taijitu!" Hazel yelled.

Fern and Hazel burst out of the forest, tumbling down a hill. Fern felt concrete beneath her once she reached the bottom. Fern stood and looked around. She was in a ruined city. She hardly had time to take it in before Hazel pushed her out of the way as the King Taijitu tried to bite off her head!

Fern pulled the guns off the back of her belt and shot at the black half's eyes. The bullets missed, hitting the bone-like armour on the giant snake's head.

The white half of the snake tried to eat Hazel from behind, and she jumped over its head. Fern tried to shoot at the white half, but it only made the black half angrier! "Fern, out of the way!" Hazel yelled, pulling her hilt off the belt. The light extended out and hardened into a heavy looking, two-handed sword. She slammed it onto the ground with incredible force! The pavement shattered and the King Taijitu was sent flying! If it were physically possible, Fern's jaw would have hit the ground. For such a small Faunus, Hazel must have been impossibly strong!

The blade retreated into Hazel's hilt. "Run before it recovers!" She yelled.

Fern ran. "How'd you do that?" She asked in awe.

Hazel shrugged. "Practice?" She guessed.

A loud hissing noise came up behind them and the King Taijitu's fangs sank into Hazel's leg. "Hazel!" Fern screamed. The black half flung Hazel into the wall of a building while the white half tried to attack Fern. She pointed a gun at each half and fired, luring the black away from Hazel.

The white half lunged and Fern tried to block with her guns but all that did was give the King Taijitu the chance to knock them out of her hands. Fern backed up until she was pressed against a wall. Both halves of the snake prepared to strike!

There was a loud _BANG_ of a gunshot and a red and black sword slammed into the side of the white's head with its hilt. A man leaped from the roof of a building and grabbed the hilt of the sword in mid air. He used the force of his fall to make his attack more effective. He swung the blade down, slicing the white head clean off! It dissolved into dust and the rest of the King Taijitu followed it after the man stabbed the black head in the roof of its mouth when it tried to bite him.

Fern stared at him. He stood quietly with his back to her before whispering in a deep voice, "Foolish human."


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine: The Human, The Bunny And The Bull**

The man seemed to be middle aged. Maybe in his forties. He wore a black trench coat with a red pattern over a red shirt and was really tall. His hair was a chocolaty brown with a grey hair here and there and was covered in red streaks. He sheathed his sword inside the barrel of a rifle he held in his hand. When he finally turned to look at Fern, she saw that he wore a mask over his eyes. She recognised the bone-white colour and the red pattern. She'd seen plenty of masks like that back home.

It was a Grimm mask!

"Do I get a thank you?" The man asked, his voice sounding annoyed. He came closer. Fern could now clearly see horns extending out of his head and curving back, in line with his hair. He was a Faunus.

"Th-th-thanks." Fern stuttered. The Faunus man grunted, turning on his heel and walking away. Fern could hardly see where he went due to the rain. But he soon came back carrying Hazel, unconscious, in his arms. Her leg was bleeding badly and Fern could also see blood on her head.

"Want to get out of the rain or not?" The Faunus man grumbled. He walked away without waiting for an answer. Fern followed him to another broken building. It was mostly intact except for a large hole in the brick wall. The hole was covered by a curtain, which the man pulled back, revealing the inside. As soon as he set Hazel on the ground he put the curtain back the way it was.

The inside was almost as intact as the outside. Though, there was only _half_ of the second floor. What remained could be accessed by a ladder, leaned against the wall and stuck firmly into the ground. There was a leak in the roof that had been dealt with by placing a plastic bucket below it. Fern sat down and watched the man work.

The man lit a fire in the stone circle in the centre of the room. Once he'd done that he climbed the ladder, searched around upstairs and returned with two pillows and several blankets under one arm. He folded two of the blankets into rectangles and placed them on top of each other, making a bed for Hazel.

On his way to a box in the corner, the man dropped the second pillow on Fern's lap and a blanket over her head. He then pulled bandages from the box and used them to wrap Hazel's leg and head. Once he was finished he placed Hazel on the makeshift bed and slid the pillow under her head. He draped the other blanket over her, keeping her warm.

Fern wrapped herself in the blanket and moved closer to the fire. She took off her wet gloves and laid them out to dry in the heat. She kept glancing up at the man. She was a bit suspicious of him. She'd be pretty stupid if she weren't. He was a Faunus wearing a mask. Just like the guys who kidnapped her. "So, uh…" Fern said, trying to start a conversation. "What's your name?"

The man grunted. "Not that it's any of your business, human. But you may call me Adam."

"Well, thanks for saving us, Adam. We probably would have died if you hadn't come. My name's Fern. And her name is Hazel."

"Normally I would have just left you there." He said. "But I decided, since you're a kid, to cut you a break."

"Do you have something against humans?"

"Long story short, yes. I do."

Fern frowned at him. Faunus didn't have any reason to hate humans any more. The discrimination had died down considerably in the past twenty-six years. Plus he could see clearly that Fern was friends with Hazel. Was there any reason Adam should have a grudge against her specifically? No.

Hazel coughed. Fern quickly crawled over to her. "Fern…" Hazel groaned. "My leg…"

"Don't worry, Hazel. You'll be all right. Once the rain stops I'm going to get help. I'll find a way back to Sanctum. As soon as we figure out where we are, we can tell the police so they can come and rescue Midnight and Flax."

"But Fern, what if… what if we're not even in Mistral any more? What if we're all the way on the other side of Remnant?"

"We're not." Fern assured her. "You were unconscious on the way here. But I wasn't. I was just blindfolded. It didn't seem like we were flying for more than an hour."

Hazel smiled a little. "Phew." She sighed.

Adam coughed, making it clear that he was there too. "Right." Said Fern. "Hazel, this is Adam. He saved us from the King Taijitu."

Hazel sat up with Fern's help. "Thank you." She said, "I'm glad you helped us. I'm worried that if you hadn't we would never be able to save our friends."

"Save your friends?" Adam asked.

"Why didn't you explain our situation?" Hazel asked Fern.

"Why do you think? He's a Faunus in a mask. Ring any bells?"

"But he's not one of them. Can't you tell kidnappers from rescuers?" Fern glared at her. "Well, I think we can trust him!" Hazel sniffed. She turned to Adam. "See, It's actually a long story."

"Well, I'm not going anywhere and neither is the rain. I'll listen."

"Okay, well it all started when we were kidnapped." Hazel explained everything from the beginning. How they were captured and how they escaped. She talked about Midnight and Flax and how they were still being held captive. She saved half of her explanation for just Midnight. She told Adam how strong he was and how he'd risked himself so they could escape. Adam said nothing until she pulled out the black ribbon.

Fern saw him sniff the air. "Where did you get that?" He asked in a slightly threatening voice.

"Midnight… gave it to me… why?"

"And who gave it to him?" Adam stood, towering over Fern and Hazel. Hazel backed up behind Fern, clutching the ribbon close.

"He said it was his… mom's."

"And you said your friend was a cat Faunus?"

Hazel nodded. Adam turned the other way, taking deep breaths. "Can I see that ribbon?" He asked.

"No! I'm gonna give it back to Midnight when we rescue him!"

"Only for a second." Adam promised. Fern grabbed Hazel's hand, warning her not to give it to him. But Hazel ignored her and handed it over anyway. Adam held the ribbon to his nose and sniffed it like a bloodhound about to track a scent. He froze. Then the most surprising thing happened. A single tear dripped down his cheek from under his mask.

He dropped to his knees before whispering, "Blake… has a… son?"


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten: The Prison**

Midnight was dragged down hallway after hallway. He tried to get out of Bardolph's grip a couple times but was only hit over the head by Bardolph's giant fist.

Eventually they came to a large set of doors. One of Bardolph's men opened them revealing an office-like room. The woman with gold eyes was sitting at a large desk. On either side of her was a Faunus kid about Midnight's age. On the left was a girl with red hair and fox ears. The way her long hair fell reminded Midnight of a sleek fox tail. Her cheeks were splattered with freckles

On the right was a boy with charcoal hair and wolf ears. He had green eyes and looked down at Midnight with a sad expression as if he were apologising for something. Both kids wore white prison uniforms over a red shirt and collars with three blinking lights around their necks and little black circles clipped on their Faunus ears.

"Where are the others?" The woman asked when Bardolph dropped Midnight on the floor.

"My apologies, Mistress. We have underestimated the four of them. Two have escaped."

The wolf boy and the fox girl looked at each other hopefully. The woman gritted her teeth than said, "No matter. Grimm'll eat them before they make it back to one of the kingdoms. All we have to deal with now is the remaining human." She looked at Flax.

"Don't…" Midnight coughed, still recovering from multiple blows to his head. "Don't even… think… about hurting him…"

"Oh, hello my kitten." The woman smiled. "You would be most useful to me. But sadly," She lifted an instrument that looked like a recorder. "I don't know the right notes for cats. It should be something simple." She began playing every single combination of notes possible, only stopping when a sudden high-pitched buzzing noise rang in Midnight's ears.

He tried to cover his ears, but he couldn't cover both his Faunus and human sets. All he could do was groan and swat at his own cat ears. The woman continued to play her instrument and the buzzing got louder. Finally she stopped and it faded. "Beautiful!" The woman cried. Midnight was grabbed from behind and someone latched a metal collar around his neck. He struggled and kicked as they tried to clip the little black things onto his ears. They finally pinned him down and attached them. Once the men pulled away he tried to pull the black things off. Something beeped on the collar and it sent a wave of painful electric shock all over Midnight's body! When it was over he fell to the floor, too stunned to move.

The woman began playing again. But this time there was no buzzing noise. Midnight felt nauseous. His thoughts became clouded. He felt like there was something he needed to do. He needed… to stand up first. Then walk to the desk… he could see a human there. She had some kind of stick in her mouth. Midnight placed his hands on the desk and looked down at them. He felt something touch him on his head. The human rubbed him on his head and ran her fingers through his hair. She removed the stick from her mouth.

Midnight suddenly realized what he was doing and scrambled away from the woman. What did she do? He put a hand to his head, still dizzy. Two men took him by his arms and held him steady.

"Midnight?" Flax asked. "Are you… okay?"

Midnight shook his head. He definitely _wasn't_ okay. "You see, Bardolph." The woman said, stepping around her desk. "I don't need to use the human to manipulate him." She gripped Midnight's chin, digging her nails into his cheeks. "I can do it myself just fine. The human is of no use to me. Just dispose of his body in the forest. Leave it to be eaten by Grimm. That way his corpse will never be found."

"No!" Midnight yelled. "If you kill him I'll tear your throat out!"

"Oh, silly kitty." The woman laughed. "I'm not going to kill him." She forced Midnight to look at Flax. "You are."

She quickly pressed a couple numbers on the keypad on the strap around her wrist. The little black things on Midnight's ears buzzed a little. The nauseous feeling returned and he stared at the human in front if him. This one was male but also juvenile. Midnight felt threatened by its presence. It needed to be destroyed before it did any harm. Midnight lunged and grabbed it by its throat, pinning it against the wall. It choked and struggled. It moved its mouth as if trying to communicate.

Suddenly Midnight became aware of what was happening. He let go of Flax and looked behind him to see the fox girl wrestling with the golden-eyed woman. The keypad strapped to her wrist had been ripped off and thrown across the room.

Midnight looked back at Flax who had sunk to the floor, coughing and gasping for air. Midnight pulled Flax's arm over his shoulder and made a run for the door. Bardolph didn't let him get very far. The giant Faunus's fist smacked him in the side of his head.

Midnight was sent sprawling. His vision was blurring and he could feel himself drifting in and out of consciousness. He could see the fox girl. She'd been slammed against the wall and the wolf boy was kneeling next to her. Their collars lit up and they appeared to scream. This was when Midnight's hearing came back.

The woman snapped her fingers and motioned for the two Faunus kids to follow her. They obeyed and she led them over to Midnight. "Show him around will you?" She asked. "He needs to familiarize himself with this building. He's going to be here for a while."

They put Midnight's arms over their shoulders and dragged him out of the room. _No…_ Midnight thought. _Flax is still in there!_ "Flax…" He managed to say. He tried to struggle out of their grip but felt too weak to move. "Flaxen…"

"I…" The wolf boy suddenly spoke. "I'm really sorry… I just… I wish…" Midnight looked up at him and could see small drops of water rolling down his cheeks and off his chin. "Zeff…" The fox girl murmured. They arrived at a door and the Faunus kids pushed it open.

The room was huge and the floor covered by an enormous soft, comfy-looking carpet. It was dotted with blankets, pillows, what looked like thicker yoga mats and about thirty scared looking children. Every single one was in a white prison uniform and they were all Faunus about Midnight's age. They all looked up from what they were doing and stared.

"Newbie?" A tall boy with small deer antlers asked. The fox girl nodded.

"Bardolph… gave him a hard time." She said. She and Zeff lied Midnight down on one of the mats, which was surprisingly comfortable. The fox girl went over to a cupboard and pulled out an extra blanket and pillow. She placed the pillow under Midnight's head and draped the blanket over him.

Several other kids began crowding around Midnight. He tried to sit up but his arms were shaky and he could barely support himself. "Just stay down." The fox girl said. "You're going to hurt yourself."

Midnight shook his head. "Flax." He said again.

"Flax?" A little girl asked. She was small and had caramel hair. She had some kind of furry rodent tail.

"His friend." The fox girl explained. "He's a human. Mistress wants to kill him." The small girl gave Midnight a sad look. "But…" the fox girl said. "Mistress was angry because two of his other friends escaped. Maybe that means we're all getting out of here soon. We can all go home." She sounded so hopeful.

"Yeah…" A skinny girl said sarcastically. She had short brown hair and faint white spots on her cheeks. "And maybe pigs will start flying tomorrow and pink unicorns will be riding rainbows in the sky. Face it we're in the middle of nowhere. It'll probably take days before they get back to one of the kingdoms or any kind of civilization for that matter. They'll probably starve to death first."

"You don't know that, Shika." The fox girl cried.

"Amber, your hopefulness has been getting on my nerves since the day we met! We're never getting out of here! We're probably all going to die once Mistress is done with us!"

The fox girl… Amber's eyes began filling with tears. "So what if I'm annoying? At least I care about what happens to us! What's so bad about wanting to go home? Is it a crime to miss my family?"

Shika went silent after that. "Your friends…" Amber said to Midnight, wiping her tears away. "What are they like?"

Midnight couldn't help but answer her. She just wanted to believe escape was possible and help was on the way. "Strong." Was the first word Midnight could think of to describe them. "Fern… is stubborn. She won't give up. If there's no food she'll find some. If they need weapons Hazel can make effective spears just out of wood. They can make it."

Amber smiled but the tall boy from before looked confused. "Fern and Hazel?" He asked. "Aren't those _girls_ names?"

"Yeah. So what? You don't think a girl can fight?"

He opened his mouth and closed it again. "Sachie, you're a real idiot sometimes." The rodent girl said. "Girls can fight just as awesome as boys. We kick butts like bosses."

"You sure talk a lot for someone with such a small mouth, Sagira." Shika growled obviously annoyed.

"Don't worry." Midnight said to all of them. "I think Amber is right. Fern and Hazel can get back to some kind of civilization and send people to come get us. That means you're all going home."

Their faces lit up with excitement and hope. Well except Shika. Her face displayed no emotion at all. But Midnight was pretty sure she was overjoyed on the inside.

"Oh, bravo." Said a voice from the door. Bardolph was leaning against the frame. "You made them all feel better." The room seemed to suddenly get larger because all but the five kids around Midnight scrambled away into the farthest corners.

Bardolph strode over to them and lifted Midnight by his shirt. "Not that it'll do much good." He smiled and let go. "Let me tell you something, kids. You probably never would have known this without me telling you. But miles of forests surround this facility. Forests so full of Grimm that even other Grimm won't go there. So even if your friends had enough food and water to make it back to one of the kingdoms it would be a waste. To escape means to die a very painful death full of claws and teeth. Your friends are most likely already dead." He laughed at the distraught looks on the kid's faces.

"So keep in mind, children. The day you finally go home will be the day fish learn how to climb trees."


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven: Return to Mistral**

Fern couldn't sleep. It was too cold and it didn't seem like the rain would ever stop. Adam seemed to have withdrawn into a shell of himself. He hadn't spoken in hours. Not since what happened with Midnight's ribbon.

Fern and Hazel were startled when he finally stood up. "I've decided… I'm going to help you save your friends." He said.

"Really? You will?" Hazel asked, her eyes gleaming. Adam nodded once.

"I'd be overjoyed but…" Fern sighed. "Until this rain stops, we're stuck. Even if it does let up, our only way back is to walk."

"Not exactly." Adam said. "I don't use it, but I do have a way of getting around."

Once the rain finally slowed to a light drizzle Fern followed Adam outside. They were walking for about five minuets before Adam finally came to a stop. The building he stopped at was similar to the one he lived in. It was worn down and a large grey curtain covered a giant hole in the wall. When Adam pulled it back Fern gasped. Inside was a perfectly intact Bullhead. It still looked functional. And of course there was the insignia. On the side of the Bullhead was a symbol Fern had seen everywhere back home.

A red Beowolf head with three claw marks behind it. It was the symbol of the White Fang.

"You… were a member… weren't you?" Fern said after a moment. "All that's over now. Why are you still wearing that mask?"

"You seem to know quite a bit about it." Adam stated.

"Well… my parents know a thing or two."

"Your parents?"

Fern shook her head. She didn't want to talk about it. Especially not to Adam. She still didn't trust him. Even less now that she knew exactly who he was. "About the Bullhead." She coughed, hoping Adam wouldn't insist on knowing about her. "Does it work?"

Adam nodded. "I've used it a couple times." He popped the door open and climbed in. "Though I'm not quite sure about it after how big that storm was." He stepped out for a bit to point out the hole in the roof to Fern. "If it works, you can just fly out the top."

"What do you mean _I can?_ Aren't you going to fly it?"

Adam shook his head. "You want to go to one of the kingdoms and get the police." He said. "I'm giving you the Bullhead so you can do that. I'm going to stay here and try to search around that facility you told me about. But if you decide this needs to be done without their help, I'll be here if you need backup."

Fern gawped at him. "I can't fly a Bullhead!" She cried. "I don't even know which direction to go in!"

"Don't lie to me." Adam grunted. "I know you can fly a Bullhead. I also know who you really are, Fern Black. I'm smarter than I look."

Fern gritted her teeth. She had an urge to punch something. Currently Adam was the closest thing to her, but she doubted she would be able to land a good hit without breaking a finger or two. "Figures you knew my parents, huh? Okay… sure I can fly it. I also know Hazel will want you to come with us weather you like it or not."

Adam gave her a short grunt for an answer and returned to the inside of the Bullhead. Fern stepped in after him. She took the driver's seat and grabbed hold of the steer-stick. She found the key in the ignition and turned it as Adam took a seat in the chair beside her. He swung one leg over the other and sat like a gentleman.

Fern pushed on the thrust and lifted the Bullhead off the ground. She kept it study until she was out of the building. Then she shoved the steer-stick forward until she was outside Adam's hideout. She landed carefully and waited as Adam went inside and retrieved Hazel. He carried her in, placed her in the passenger's seat and tied her there so she wouldn't fall if it was a rough ride. "You'll want to go east." Adam said. "You'll fly over a lake. Once it's gone you'll be at the walls of Mistral." He handed her something that looked like a speaker. "Two-way radio." He told her. "Keep in touch."

"Thanks." Fern said, slipping it into her pocket. "For all your help."

"Huh?" Hazel asked. "Why do you sound like you're saying goodbye? Adam's coming with us, right?"

Adam stepped off the aircraft and the door closed behind him. "No!" Hazel yelled as Fern ascended. "Why are we leaving without him? He said he was going to help us!"

"He gave us the Bullhead, Hazel." Fern said. "He never said he was coming to Mistral with us."

"But he said… he said he wanted to help us save Flax and Midnight." Her eyes became watery.

"He will, Hazel." Fern explained. "He told me he's going to snoop around the building and find out what he can."

"But he doesn't need to do that. We can leave it to the police, right?"

"I don't think _he_ thinks we can."

Hazel folded her arms and was silent for most of the flight. Occasionally she would hum to herself or itch at her bandages. The flight was only a bit shorter than the one they took on the way to that prison. As Adam had said, after the first twenty minutes, they began an hour of flight over top of a lake. When the shore could be seen, so could the tall stone walls of Mistral.

Fern felt a rush of excitement and sped up. She zoomed over the wall, not realizing she was setting off an alert from the Atlesian Paladins guarding it.

 _"_ _Unknown aircraft."_ Came the booming voice of a pilot. _"Stop and identify your ship."_

"Oh crud." Fern muttered. "Now we gotta deal with the damn military." She put the Bullhead into full thrust and pushed it to its maximum speed.

"Fern, what are you doing?" Hazel cried. "They can help us!"

"We came to get the police, not the military!"

 _Bang!_ The wing of the aircraft burst into flames! "Fern! Just pull over! They're shooting at us!" Hazel yelled.

"No kidding!" Fern struggled to steer with only one working wing. She swerved to avoid more bullets.

"School!" Hazel screamed.

"What?"

"Sanctum Academy, one o'clock!" Fern noticed it. Her school.

"I'm landing!" she yelled to Hazel.

"You can't do that with one wing!"

"Fine, I'm _crash_ landing!"

Fern looked out the window at the frightened students. She recognized some as her classmates. The teachers were filing out of the doors, weapons drawn. _Great._ Fern thought. _Now_ they're _shooting at us_.

One of the bullets hit the second wing and the Bullhead was sent spiralling in another direction! She noticed another recognizable face. That was Midnight's sister on the ground. Firing at them. Fern shouldn't have blamed her. This ship was like the one that took her brother. Not to mention it had the white fang insignia on it. But Fern didn't care! Her gut twisted in anger and she shoved on the controls!

The Bullhead barely missed the roof of the school and sped towards the front gates, knocking the head off the statue in the water fountain. Fern was flung out of her seat when the aircraft smacked into the ground. When everything was quiet Fern got up. She untied Hazel from her seat and lifted her onto her back.

"Maybe I should fly next time." Hazel suggested. Fern ignored her and stumbled to the door, now shrouded with smoke. She slammed her palm on the open button.

"Freeze where you are!" Came an order from outside, followed by the clicking of loaded guns.

"Don't shoot!" Fern yelled, stepping out of the smoke.

"It's Fern!" Someone in the small crowd yelled. "And Hazel."

Fern was quickly surrounded by people asking to help her. Hazel was quickly taken to the infirmary but Fern refused. She needed to do something first.

Fern brushed the dust off herself and marched straight towards Eclipse Wukong. "Fern, where's-"

Fern didn't let her finish. She slammed her fist into the side of Eclipse's face! The Faunus went flying and skidded to a stop on the pavement. People stared and Flax's brother rushed to help Eclipse. Not that she deserved it. "What-" She started to ask.

Fern cut her off. "You selfish dirtbag!" She yelled. "You made him _cry,_ you lowlife!"

"What are you-"

"You made Midnight _cry!_ What kind of person are you? Just who do you think you are?"

Eclipse stayed silent this time. She rubbed the side of her face. Fern spat at her and slipped away to the infirmary. _I won't forgive her for that._ Fern told herself. _I won't forgive her for hurting him._


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve: Decisions**

Midnight woke in the middle of the night to Sachie tapping him on the shoulder. Midnight blinked. "What?" He asked.

"I… got a message from Mistress." He said. "She wants us to bring you to her." Midnight looked up to see Shika sitting cross-legged behind Sachie.

"Get dressed." She grumbled tossing Midnight a uniform like the ones they were dressed in. He reluctantly put it on and let them lead him out the door.

Midnight studied both of them. He knew Shika might kill him for this but he asked, "What kind of Faunus are you, anyway? I can't tell."

"A doe." She answered flatly. "But half human. My spots and ears are the only way you can tell." She pulled back her hair and showed him that her human ears were slightly pointed, like Sachie's. The back ear pieces had been clipped onto them. "But my spots will fade away when I'm older. Just like my brother's."

"Brother?" Midnight asked. He looked between the two of them. "You're siblings?"

Sachie smiled. "I'm older." He said. "Don't listen to a thing she says."

"Only _one_ year separates us. Don't think you can do anything I can't."

"Well, I can grow antlers." Sachie grinned.

Shika rolled her eyes. "Female deer Faunus can grow antlers. It's not _my_ fault Dad's a human, your antlers will barely grow more than that!"

Sachie let out a small giggle and said no more, walking silently with a grin on his face. His smile soon faded after they reached a pair of doors bigger than the ones at Mistress's office. When the doors were open they revealed a throne room. With Mistress on the throne, naturally. _Of course she has a freaking throne._ Midnight thought. _She probably want's to dominate Remnant or something._

Midnight's eyes drifted around the room. They stopped right after the came to the left of the throne. Flax was lying on his side with his hands tied firmly behind his back. His legs were also bound near his knees and at his ankles where he was chained to one of the legs of the throne. He was gagged and his eyes were closed. But he was breathing. He was alive. That was the important thing.

The other important thing was that on the wall farther to the left a man was chained with his arms above his head. He was that big guy that had kidnapped Midnight and his friends. Bardolph's 'top man'. Well, top Faunus. Without his hood and mask Midnight could clearly see the goat horns on his head. The man was also gagged but he was awake.

Midnight's eyes went back to Flax. "Oh, yes." Sighed Mistress. "Your precious friend is still alive. But he won't be awake to see you."

"Why? What did you do to him?"

"I just drugged him. Nothing horrible." She glanced at him. "I suppose you're wondering why I haven't killed him yet."

Midnight glared at her. He wouldn't have worded it like that. She had made it sound like he _wanted_ Flax to die.

"The only reason he's still alive is because he's quite an intriguing human." Mistress explained. "Yesterday, an accomplice of mine dropped by when I was going to drive a bullet through your friend's head. My accomplice scanned him and found quite a few interesting things. Normally one's Semblance is uncovered around your age. But you're friend got his when he was six." A smile curled at her lips. "So I'm taking care of him for when my accomplice returns to pick him up. Apparently he is exactly what my accomplice was looking for. That Aura… it's extremely powerful. And useful…"

 _Flax's… Aura?_ Midnight wondered. _What does her accomplice want with Flax's Aura?_

"But off of that topic," Mistress said. "You're my new favourite."

"Favourite?" Midnight asked.

"Oh, yes. You'll be doing special errands for me. And… you're going to lead my army."

"Army?" Midnight asked.

"Us." Sachie said quietly.

"But we're just kids!" Midnight yelled.

"Kids who have been trained in combat." Mistress smiled. "You can fight. I can control you. And no one will think about killing you because you are, as you put it, just kids."

Midnight got an uneasy feeling in his stomach. "But why do you need an army?" He murmured. "To start a war?"

"No. To rid the world of the useless, wretched things you call humans. I'll be doing the Faunus a favour."

"But why do you hate humans so much?"

"Because it's my job. I'm practically the leader of Faunus who hate humans."

"But that's over now! The White Fang… They're gone! No one has any reason to hate each other!"

"Are you quite sure?" Mistress asked him. "The White Fang may be gone but its members aren't. They live on as a stricter, darker civilization. A… Black Fang, if it must have a name. It's not just the higher people we want to destroy this time. This time we need to get rid of the entire human race! Because last time… The weaker White Fang. They failed! Taken out by meddlesome children with oversized gardening tools!"

Mistress's hair wen frizzy in her rage. "This time," She said, calmly putting it back into place. "Even the children have to go. You understand? I'll get what I want with your help. And you will help me."

Midnight shook his head. "Not on my fee will, I won't!"

"I think you would find it wiser to do the things I ask of you without question. If you work for me freely I won't do anything nasty to you like I've had to do with the other children. The only thing you need to worry about is… well, my temper."

She pulled out a gun and tossed it to Sachie. When he caught it Mistress began playing her recorder-like instrument. Midnight expected to lose control of himself but nothing happened. Instead Shika stiffened beside him and Sachie walked forward, gun in hand. The deer Faunus raised the weapon and pointed it at the top man. He fired three times at his chest, killing him.

Mistress lowered the recorder and grinned in satisfaction. Sachie looked down at the gun and up at the dead goat Faunus. He screamed and dropped the gun. He backed away from it until he was pressed against the wall. He sank to the floor, shaking and crying. His knees pulled to his chest, Sachie rested his head in his arms. Midnight couldn't help but worry that this would traumatize Sachie forever.

"You see?" Mistress asked. "You work for me, kitten, you won't be killed," She looked at the dead Faunus, "and you won't have to kill." She looked at Sachie. "You will have power. You can just order others to kill for you. That blood… will never be on your hands."

"I'd rather it be on my hands than someone else's!" Midnight yelled.

"No…" Mistress sighed. "You wouldn't. You want to remain clean of any deaths you cause. I can see it on your face. It doesn't matter. Because you will join me weather you like it," She pressed buttons on her keypad. Sachie crawled forward and held the gun to his own head. "Or not." Mistress finished.

"Sachie!" Shika cried. Midnight jumped. How was she awake? Her collar beeped and she fell to the ground groaning in pain of the shock.

"So, will you be my army's commander?" Mistress asked. "Will you join me?"

Midnight bit his lip. "Fine." He said. "Fine! Just let him go!"

Mistress re-entered the numbers and Sachie dropped the gun. He flopped down onto his side, eyes filled with tears. Midnight and Shika rushed to help him. "You start your errands tomorrow, kitten." Mistress purred. "Now go back to your room."

Shika pulled one of Sachie's arms over her shoulder and gestured for Midnight to take the other. He did. But he wanted to tear Mistress apart! He couldn't though! As long as she had that recorder, she could make Sachie and Shika do anything she wanted. She could make _Midnight_ do anything she wanted. The only question was… why hadn't she used that recorder to make him join her?


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen: Three Flutes**

"Three weeks?" Eclipse yelled, "You can't wait three weeks! They could be killed by then!"

"Sorry kid." The police officer said. "We're just spread to thin right now. If there are as many rogue Faunus as you say, we can't handle them right now. The time will let us gather our forces and come up with a working plan."

Two officers escorted Eclipse out of the station. Her friends and Fern were waiting outside for her. "They haven't changed their minds." She growled. "If we want to rescue Midnight and Flaxen… we're going to have to do it ourselves."

"Don't see why not." Crimson sighed. "We already snuck out during a lockdown. We're more than just breaking the rules now."

Fern smiled. "You know what can top it off?" She asked.

The minute Fern had said that Eclipse knew she was going to end up doing something she would regret. Now that proved true. Fern had brought her and her friends to an airship yard. "Fern, please don't tell me we're going to steal an airship."

"Oh, I won't tell you anything of the sort." Fern replied, eyeing an especially large airship. "Guys, we're going to _borrow_ an airship. Though, we can't promise it will be returned in one piece."

Fern climbed inside the giant airship and crouched under the dashboard. She began fiddling with wires. "Ladies and gentleman, take your seats." She called, "Our take-off's gonna be really bumpy!" The engines roared to life and Fern quickly took the controls.

Eclipse grabbed hold of the back of the co-pilot seat, which had been occupied by Sapphire. Outside the window, Eclipse could see the employees and owners of the shipyard running towards the craft. But Fern already had the ship too high up for them to do anything about it.

Fern slammed forward on the controls and the ship shot off at its maximum speed. They dodged past other air traffic and several Paladins who proceeded to chase the stolen airship. "Why did you have to take the big ship?" Eclipse yelled over the roaring of the engines and screaming sirens.

"Call it a hunch!" Fern called back, "I have a feeling I know what happened to all the other kids."

"You think they're somewhere in that building?" Frost asked.

"Well, where else would they be?"

"Fair point."

Once the walls of Mistral were a safe distance behind the ship, Fern eased up on the controls. The ship slowed and glided smoothly. "Try to relax and gather some strength." Fern said. "The ride takes a while."

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"I… I'll be fine."

Midnight knelt in front of Sachie. A blanket had been draped over the deer Faunus' shoulders. Midnight left him alone to give him space. He moved and sat down next to Zeff, who was muttering under his breath.

"How far way from civilization do you think we are?" Zeff asked.

"Pretty far, I guess. For this place to be surrounded by forests and Grimm." Midnight crossed his legs and sighed. "She didn't have to do that." He said, glancing over at Sachie. "Couldn't she have just used that recorder thing to get me to join her?"

"The flutes don't work like that." Zeff replied.

"I'm not quite sure that was a flute."

"Neither am I. But I guess they misnamed them." Zeff sighed and shook his head. "I don't know how long ago, but a while back, people made three types of flutes, which were _supposedly_ destroyed a year after their creation. One was made to control plants. To make them grow faster and better. That really wasn't that dangerous, so they didn't take any safety precautions. Anyone can use the Plant Flute, also known as a Colletis Flute. They handed them out to several trusted farmers as an experiment. It went well, so they made the second flute. One that could control animals."

"Animals…" Midnight grunted, "No wonder she only wanted Faunus. I still don't understand it though. We're not _really_ animals."

Zeff tapped the black earpieces clipped onto his wolf ears. "They transmit the sound directly to that part of our brains that isn't human. It brings out our animal instinct so the Flute can control it. Mistress uses that keypad to transmit the music to individual Faunus. But… anyway, the Animal Flutes, also called Tier Flutes were more dangerous. So they added a limitation. The Flutes act as a Semblance of sorts. While being used they have to consume the energy from your Aura. So the Flute Mistress has can only be used by someone with a trained Aura. Like Huntsman or Huntresses, Cops, Mistress or anyone who has unlocked their semblance through training with Aura."

"So… if I wanted to, I could use it?" Midnight asked. "That's an unsettling thought. What about the third Flute?"

"The third Flute…" Said Zeff, "Was a Grimm Flute, only to be wielded by those with particularly powerful Auras."

"An instrument… that can control Grimm?"

"That look on your face is precisely why they destroyed it." Zeff explained. "There was only ever one Grimm Flute, about fifty Tier Flutes and over a hundred Colletis Flutes. And as you can imagine, not all of the Flutes were destroyed. Mistress has a surviving Tier Flute and I wouldn't have known all this if I had never seen a Flute myself."

"You've seen one?" Midnight asked.

Zeff reached down his shirt and retrieved a small object attached to a string around his neck. It looked like a mouthpiece from a woodwind instrument. "I have one." He said. "This is a piece of a surviving Colletis Flute. My older brothers have the middle and the end."

"How did you get it?" Midnight asked, amazed.

"It was Dad's." Zeff answered. "I suppose he got it from our grandparents."

"If you don't mind me asking, why do you have it?"

Zeff tucked it back down his shirt. "I'm not like everyone else here." He said. "They all go to schools and academies that train them to fight. They all live in the kingdoms. But I don't. I was taken from a small farm to the far south of Mistral. The only reason I know how to fight is so my brothers and I can protect our farm from Grimm."

"But… in that case how did they find you. Wouldn't it have been wiser just to kidnap kids in the kingdoms who were professionally trained?"

"That's what Mistress said." Zeff told Midnight, "She wanted potential huntsman and huntresses. But Bardolph insisted that I would be useful to her."

"Bardolph?"

"He's the one who kidnapped me." Zeff explained. "When he came to take me he talked to my parents like her knew them. Apparently… They were in the White Fang together. Bardolph and my parents. Bardolph said he was coming to collect what Dad owed him. Mom said we had no money. But Bardolph didn't want money… He said that Dad was only still breathing because of him. He told them to be glad that my brothers and I even existed. He said that it was only fair that he took one of us."

"But why you?" Midnight asked. "No offence, but don't your brothers have more experience?"

"Well, he was going to take Lowe, my oldest brother. He'll have turned seventeen by now. But I got in his way. I took one of Mom's gardening rakes and used it as a weapon. I couldn't hold him off for long. But since he must have decided I had spirit, he took me instead of my brothers."

Midnight thought this story was familiar somehow. He sifted through his memories until he found it. A news broadcast playing in the living room as he had been looking through the bookshelves. _"The witnesses say the intruder was a very large Faunus man in a mask. The missing child appeared to have been kidnapped and-"_ Then Dad had shut it off to talk to Mom about it.

"You were the first." Midnight said. "You were the first one to get taken, weren't you?"

"They needed someone… to test the Flute on." Zeff murmured, pulling his knees to his chest. "They experimented until they figured out how to control me. And when they did… they began to take the other kids."

Midnight couldn't quite find the right words to say. Poor Zeff had been here alone for almost two months before the second kidnapping took place. And who knows what they did to him during that time.

"If only I had the rest of the flute." Zeff sighed. "Maybe I could use it to make a plant grow right through that wall so we could escape."

Midnight also wished he could do something. But he had already tried to resist. Now Sachie was in a state of torment. "As soon as I get the chance, Zeff," Midnight said, "Once I'm close enough, I'm going to destroy the Tier Flute so no one can use it again."


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen: Rescue**

Fern landed the aircraft next to the building where she had stayed with Adam. Once everything was turned off Fern, Eclipse, Crimson and the twins exited the ship. "This way." Fern said, leading them to the curtain. They filed inside but no one was there.

"What is this place?" Crimson asked.

Fern explained about Adam and how he had helped Hazel. "He probably went to sneak around the building like he said he would."

"So what do we do now?" Sapphire asked. "Do we just come up with a quick plan and rescue the kids without him?"

"I don't know. Maybe he'll come back and we can ask him if he discovered anything."

Fern spun around when a scraping sound shot to her ears, like the unsheathing of a sword. There was a yelp of surprise. Adam was standing in the doorway, gripping Frost with one arm and holding a red and black sword to his throat with the other. He glanced around the room his gazed caught on Fern. "Oh," He grumbled, "It's you." He looked around at Eclipse and her friends. "I see you've brought your reinforcements." He let go of Frost. "So I take it the police wouldn't help you."

"If you say I told you so, I will-"

"I told you they wouldn't come."

Fern sighed. "They wanted to wait for reinforcements. For three weeks."

Adam grunted. "Well, no use waiting around." He mumbled. "You can park that airship right next to the building. There's a yard full of ones just like it and bigger."

He left before Fern could say anything. She marched out after him with the others in tow. She flew the airship over the dense forest once everyone was aboard. She couldn't lie to herself. Seeing that building again made her stomach flop. She wanted to fly back to Sanctum and curl up in a ball under a desk.

Once the ship had landed she went over the plan. It wasn't a very good plan. But they didn't have a lot of time and it was the best they could come up with. After a check for any kidnappers Fern lead the others to a metal door.

Fern was caught off guard when she entered. She had expected cold, damp, dirty passageways with dim lights and the echoing sobs of kidnapped children. But instead it was quiet, clean and organized. For an evil organization, they had one talented janitor.

Adam gestured for them to hurry up and move. Fern rolled her eyes but didn't argue. For most of the journey through the hallways they had no trouble. Only once or twice did an evil Faunus walk by causing the group to scatter for a hiding place. Adam suggested knocking them unconscious but Eclipse didn't want to set off an alarm.

"Another one." Eclipse whispered to Fern. "I can hear it coming this way."

Fern and the others held their breaths and waited for the person to pass by. But she didn't. The Faunus turned the corner and gasped, clutching her broom and dropping her sponge and bucket of water. Adam grabbed her before she could make any more noise.

It didn't take long to find an enclosed space. The tiny room was filled with weapons of all kinds. Adam let go of the girl and she dropped to the floor, gasping for air. She was a tiny Faunus, but not much younger than Hazel. She was dressed in a white prison uniform over a red shirt. She had caramel hair and some kind of furry rodent tail.

"You were choking her!" Crimson snapped. Adam shrugged.

"Thought she was an enemy."

"She's a kid!"

Adam frowned. "Clearly you have holes in your history education."

Sapphire knelt in front of the girl. "Okay kid," She said. "Talk to us. Information. How many kidnapped kids are here? Who did the kidnapping?"

"You're here to rescue us?" The girl asked.

"Yeah. Now tell us everything so we can do our job."

"There are forty-seven of us and one hundred and thirty-six guards." The girl told them. "The guards were sent by a woman called Mistress to kidnap us so she could have an army." The girl pulled back her hair, revealing black earpieces clipped onto her ears. "She has this flute thing that she uses to control us. It doesn't work unless you're wearing these but if we try to take them off the collar shocks us." She tapped the collar around her neck.

"Okay," Frost said, "So where does this Mistress woman keep all of you?"

"In a room down the south hall." The girl answered. "But sometimes the has a couple of us doing chores. Me and a couple other smaller Faunus have to clean stuff. She said we were good for nothing else. But some of the older kids are tasked with showing the new kids around. And then… there are her favourites."

"Favourites?" Fern asked.

"Some of them are forced to kill the people Mistress wants dead." The girl explained. "And she wants them to be on the frontlines of her army."

"And they're being kept where?" Eclipse asked.

"Right now? Mistress rounded them all up and took them to her meeting hall."

"And what about any human kids the guards might have accidentally picked up?" Crimson asked.

"They don't bring any human kids." The girl said. "If they did… Mistress probably killed him already."

"Him?" Adam asked.

"They had one… a human boy. But I never saw him. The others talked about how Mistress was going to kill him. So if she wanted him dead… then she would have killed him by now."

Fern flinched at the sound of a _thump_ behind her. Crimson had sunk to his knees, shaking. Water formed in the corners of his wide eyes. "Flax…" He whispered. "No… that can't be…"

"Flax?" The girl asked. "You knew him."

"He's my brother." Crimson told her.

"I'm… sorry."

Eclipse crouched next to him. "He could still be okay." She murmured. "She might not have had time to do anything or she could have decided to keep him."

Crimson nodded but Fern could see the doubt on his face. "Okay." Crimson said, "We have to get forty-seven kids to safety. So I suggest we split up. Adam should go get the majority locked in that room."

"But there are too many guards down there!" The girl cried.

"It's fine." Adam grunted. "I've handled worse."

"So the rest of us split up and find the strays?" Sapphire asked.

Crimson nodded in response. Then looked down at the little Faunus. "You should go with Adam." He said. "That way you'll be one of the first out."

The girl nodded. On the way out Eclipse stopped her. "What's your name?" She asked.

"Sagira." The girl answered.

"Let's go!" Fern called. "Before Adam begins kicking Faunus butt and triggering alarms."

That got Eclipse moving. Fern and the others stayed together at first but after bumping into several small Faunus kids, mostly rabbit, mouse and other rodents, they split up, the twins going to the airship with the kids and Fern, Eclipse and Crimson to find the meeting room.

Things went well aside from a few guards until an ear piercing alarm sounded and made the rescue way harder than it should have been.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen: Mistress**

Crimson wished the alarm hadn't gone off. Then again, he wished a lot of things. Things that probably wouldn't happen. But he didn't have time to think. He was going to find that Mistress person and fill her chest with arrows!

"Ak!" That was Eclipse. She had just run into another Faunus kid. But this one wasn't a small child being forced to clean. He was around the same age as Crimson, though slightly shorter. He had charcoal hair and green eyes. As for his Faunus trait, he had wolf ears.

"Whoa kid." Fern said. "We're here to get you out."

The boy said nothing. He just stood up and kept running. "Hey, wait!" Crimson yelled, running after him. He, Eclipse and Fern followed him to a pair of doors where he stopped. The boy stood there for a moment before shoving them open. The room inside was like a throne room. Wide with a high ceiling. Directly across from the door was the throne. The woman sitting on it was tall and skinny with golden eyes and long, claw like fingernails. She was holding a Scroll in her hands and watching camera footage.

"Shut the door, would you?" She sighed. The door slammed shut behind Crimson. He spun around to see two Faunus slightly older than himself guarding it. When he turned back, the wolf Faunus had gone to stand beside the woman on the throne.

"Glad you could make it, children." The woman laughed. "Honestly, did you think you could just take my army from me without my permission?"

"They're just kids!" Eclipse yelled.

The woman laughed. "I see you've got quite a bit of energy." She said. "You'll be quite useful to me in the future."

Crimson drew and arrow and fitted it into his bow, aiming it at the woman's chest. "You have ten seconds to let all of them go and tell me what you've done with my brother!"

The woman said nothing. "Ten…" Crimson said. "Nine… Eight. Seven. Six. Five. Four…" The woman grinned. "Three… Two…"

Crimson felt a rush of air against the back of his neck. "One." Someone behind him said. Something smacked him in the side of his head, knocking him unconscious.

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"Crimson!" Eclipse screamed. The arrow flew out of his bow and bounced harmlessly off a wall.

"Ah…" The woman said. "Meet my army's commander."

Eclipse threw up her arms to block an attack. The wood of an old fashioned bo staff smacked against her arms. As soon as the attack landed the commander backed away and gasped.

"Eclipse?"

Eclipse found herself looking at her brother. He was dressed the same way as all the other kidnapped children. Complete with black earpieces and shock collar. He looked from her to who she had come with. "Fern?"

"Midnight?" Fern asked. She lowered her weapons and took a step towards Midnight, as if to run and hug him. She froze when Midnight took a step back and pointed the bo staff at her in a ready position.

"Oh, it's you!" The woman cried, looking at Fern. "The other human!"

Eclipse and Fern ignored her. "Midnight, we came to get you out." Eclipse said.

Midnight looked so sad. His face was twisted in an expression of pain and regret. "I can't…" He said, still holding the bo staff ready to fight. "I can't go with you…"

"Why not?"

"Because…" The woman laughed, "He's going to come with me. You can't have an army without someone to lead it. I asked him to join me. He's one of us now."

Eclipse gulped and stared at her brother. "Midnight?" She asked.

He dropped his gaze to the floor. "I… I had to." He said.

"No…" Fern whispered.

"It's not like she gave me a choice!" Midnight yelled. He gripped the staff. "I have to." He murmured, "I'm sorry!"

He lunged forward and swung the staff low, causing Eclipse to fall when it hit her leg. Midnight drew a knife from his sleeve and used it to pin her to the floor by her shirt. Once she was stuck he went after Fern. As he was fighting her, his mouth was moving as if he was speaking. Eclipse couldn't hear what he was whispering to Fern. She just hoped it was some sort of escape plan.

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Fern blocked Midnight's attack with one of her guns. "Just lose, Fern." Midnight pleaded. "Give up. If I defeat you now and leave you unconscious, she won't kill you!"

"But we can beat her." Fern argued. "We came to rescue you and Flax so that's what we're going to do. If you would just fight with us instead of against us-"

"I can't!" He protested, blocking a punch. "If I turn against her, she'll just start controlling me. She'll make one of the other's kill you and she'll kidnap Eclipse! If I take you out now, you don't have to die and I can find out where she's taken Flax."

"Flax is alive?"

"Yes, but I don't know where he is. She ordered Bardolph to take him somewhere."

Fern didn't feel like this was the right time to ask who Bardolph was. "We can _find_ Flax!" She told Midnight.

"No, we can't!" He said, swinging at her with the bo staff. "Even if we manage to catch Mistress before she gets away, which she will, she'll have already sent a message to Bardolph telling him to take Flax somewhere else." He swung again, this time hitting Fern in the shoulder. He swept the staff below her knees. Fern tried to jump but Midnight had already pulled her sleeve at her shoulder, both holding her down and putting her off balance. The staff smacked her leg and sent her to the ground with a _thud._

Midnight pulled another knife from his sleeve and used it to pin her there. "Just pretend to be unconscious." He whispered, "Please!"

Fern glared at him but closed her eyes and laid her head back against the ground. Midnight had given her quite a few good reasons why the three of them couldn't take out Mistress alone. Maybe it would have gone differently if the twins and Adam had been there or Midnight hadn't knocked Crimson out or _both_ even. But that wasn't the case. Mistress had three kids in here to control, _four_ if you counted Midnight. And if Adam hadn't gotten all of the other kid's earpieces off yet, she could call more. Plus… she still had Flax. She could kill him at any moment. So Fern decided to go along with what he had said. He was her friend… she trusted him.

"Well done, my little commander." Fern heard Mistress say. There was a sudden beeping sound and Fern opened her eyes slightly to see what it was. Mistress had received a message on her Scroll. "It's time." She said, "I have the location." She tapped her Scroll twice before saying into it, "Bardolph. Bring the human to the yard. Ship forty-two. Fulbright sent me a message with the location."

"No!" Midnight yelled, "Please don't give him to him."

"Not to worry, my kitten." Mistress sighed. "I'll let you have the body when Fulbright is done."

 _Fulbright?_ Fern wondered. _Is that a name?_

"Come." Mistress said. The three Faunus kids under her control walked to her, the two at the doors grabbing Midnight's arms on the way. They pushed him towards Mistress. She stood and stepped gracefully around the back of her throne. When she bent down, facing the wall, Fern turned to look more closely at what she was doing. She appeared to be typing in a passcode on a door lock hidden behind the throne. The wall slid open and Mistress stepped into the passageway, followed by the three Faunus kids and Midnight.

He looked back at her, apology swimming through his eyes. Fern's thought's blocked out Eclipse's desperate screaming for him to come back. _It's going to be fine._ She told herself. _Midnight… He'll get Flax out of here… right?_ The door in the wall slid shut, blocking Fern from her friend.

A loud bang erupted across the room as the doors flew open. "Eclipse!" That was… Sapphire!

"Eclipse, are you okay? Where's… Crimson!" That had to be Frost. He ran over to Crimson and checked for a pulse. Fern looked up to see Adam leaning over her. He pulled the knife out of her shirt so she could get up.

"We have to hurry!" Fern told the others. "The ship yard! Mistress is heading for the airship yard. A…. Ship forty-two! She's got Midnight and Flax and three other kids!" She jumped to her feet. When she ran out the door the others followed in the order of Eclipse, Sapphire, Frost and Adam with Crimson flung over his shoulder.

"I have a plan!" Fern called over her shoulder. "It just depends on if we get there first."


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen: Plans Foiled**

Midnight pressed his nails into his palms. He hated this. He hated Mistress. And he _hated_ that he couldn't do anything to stop her while Bardolph was gripping his arms so tightly!

Midnight threw a worried glance behind him. Sachie and Shika were standing with blank faces on either side of Flax. Poor Flax… he was still sedated, bound and gagged.

"Where is that damn pilot!" Mistress growled. As if on cue, one of the guards climbed aboard and sat in the pilot's seat. Three more guards followed and stood at the back with Sachie, Shika and Flax. Midnight returned his gaze to stare straight ahead. Zeff was standing behind the passenger's seat occupied by Mistress. His face was as blank as the siblings' behind Bardolph.

"These coordinates." Mistress said to the pilot, tapping her Scroll. "Land on the ground, not the rooftop. I want to walk up there myself."

The pilot nodded and took off. Mistress sighed. "This has been a horrible day." She told Bardolph. "Not only have I lost all but four members of my army, but it was to kids! There must have been more than just those three. They found my other soldiers and took the earpieces off!"

 _The other kids?_ Midnight thought. _They all escaped? They're going home! Amber and Sagira… they're safe!_ Midnight wished Zeff could have heard that. He would have been so happy.

The flight lasted around ten minutes. Where the pilot landed wasn't far from the building. All they had done was flown over a large forest. When the ship landed in the middle of a concrete road, Sachie and Shika grabbed Flax and dragged him outside. Bardolph gave Midnight a small shove, ordering him to move. Midnight shielded his eyes as bright sunlight shone in his face. Tiny puddles were scattered across the ground, like it had been raining several hours ago.

Midnight looked up when a large airship landed on the roof of a tall building. A large and unfamiliar logo was painted on the side along with the words Bright-tech Inc.

"You four stay here." Mistress said to the pilot and three guards.

"I'm sorry, _Mistress._ " The pilot said, raising a familiar, green gun at her. "But if we're not going anywhere, neither are you!"

The pilot faded away, leaving Fern in her place. The three guards also disappeared, revealing Eclipse, Sapphire and Frost with their weapons raised. Mistress sighed. "Kill them." She told Sachie, Shika and Zeff. "I'm already late for the exchange."

"No!" Midnight screamed. Bardolph grabbed him with one arm and lifted Flax over his shoulder with the other. Midnight was dragged away as the three Faunus raised guns at Fern, Eclipse and the twins. Midnight struggled but Bardolph held tight, forcing him up the fire escape of a rather tall and extremely wide building.

Once they reached the top Midnight was shoved across, as Mistress made her was to meet a tall man in glasses on the other side of the roof. The man had long grey-blue hair that fell to his shoulders. His eyes behind the rectangular glasses were a cold, icy blue. He wore a distasteful combination of a suit and tie with a white lab coat.

"You brought it?" The man asked. Bardolph dropped Flax in front of him. "Wonderful." The man chuckled. Midnight gulped. The man was called Morrison Fulbright. He was the one who wanted to rip Flax's Aura right out of his body.

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The deer Faunus's foot slammed into Fern's stomach. He was about a head taller than her. Strong, maybe he was fifteen or sixteen years old. He had more fighting experience than she did. Maybe Fern should have called fighting the wolf boy instead. He was about the same age as her and he seamed slightly undertrained.

"Go, Eclipse!" Sapphire yelled, "Go after Midnight!"

Fern felt a twinge of something in her gut. Anger? No… it was… Fern gulped. Jealousy! Fern didn't want Eclipse to go and save Midnight! Fern was his friend! His best friend! She wanted to save him as badly, if not more than Eclipse did! And Flax. Fern wanted to save Flax as well.

But Midnight would have wanted her to let Eclipse go. He would have wanted her to stay and rescue the three Faunus that were being forced to fight by Mistress and her stupid controlling recorder.

Fern squeezed the handle of her revolvers, dropping out a blade that turned them into sickles. She knew it was dangerous and she might risk slicing the deer Faunus's shoulder or killing him even, but she swung the sickle down and sliced clean through the metal shock collar! _I will save these kids!_ She told herself. _For Midnight!_ Fern snatched the earpieces off the boy's ears and shoved him to the ground.

Sapphire and Frost had followed her lead. Frost cutting off the collar with his rapier and Sapphire with her… guandao? Fern could have sworn it used to be a gun. Wait… now it was a trident. But anyway… Once the collars were off, the Faunus were pinned down and the earpieces removed.

The deer boy was the first to groan and blink with a confused expression. When he noticed Fern sitting on him, his whole face went bright red. Fern stood and helped him to his feet.

"Sachie…" Came another groan. The girl… who looked mostly human was helped to stand by Sapphire. The deer boy wrapped her in a comforting hug and she smiled slightly. _Siblings._ Fern guessed.

The wolf boy was next to stand up. His gaze went directly too the roof where Mistress and her henchman had taken Flax and Midnight. Eclipse was nearing the top of the fire escape. "You three should stay here." Fern said to the Faunus. "You need to rest. We got this."

Then Fern ran to the fire escape before anyone could stop her.

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Midnight kicked at Bardolph, who was blocking him from Flax. Fulbright had knelt down and stuck a needled syringe into Flax's arm.

"Couldn't you do that while we're on the ship?" Mistress scowled.

"We?" Fulbright asked as the syringe filled with blood. He pulled it out and laid a Band-Aid over the spot.

"Yes." Mistress said. "I've changed our arrangement. Didn't you get my message? It doesn't seem fair to just give you my prisoner for free. So the new deal is, the boy for sanctuary. We need a new place to operate from. And you need the human for whatever experiment you want to do."

"I'll consider it." Fulbright said.

"Well consider it faster." Mistress growled, "I need to get out of here with as many soldiers as possible and unless those children have been killed, that's only _one_."

"Zero!" Came a shout from across the roof, showing just how loud Mistress had been talking. Eclipse was standing with Demontail in blade form. "That amount is going to be zero!"

Mistress groaned. "Bardolph, get rid of her."

The giant Faunus didn't respond. Midnight hadn't even noticed that he was no longer there! Midnight spun around, trying to see where he'd gone and spotted him in the shadows on the inside of the airship! But Mistress was too frustrated to notice.

"Your _henchman_ seems to have abandoned you." Fulbright laughed.

Mistress gave an enraged growl and snatched Flax by his hoodie. She yanked him behind her. "You don't get your little lab experiment until you give me sanctuary! You are not my boss! I'm in charge! And you!" She turned to Midnight and grabbed his shirt. "You are going to get rid of her and make sure she's dead!" She nodded her head to Eclipse, who was now sprinting across the roof.

Midnight shook his head. "N-No! I can't! She's… She's my sister! And you said that you wouldn't make me kill anyone!"

"Plans change." Mistress said. She let go of Midnight and typed in numbers on the keypad.

"Stop it!" Midnight screamed. He reached to pull off the earpieces. Even if the collar shocked him, she wouldn't be able to make him move.

Midnight froze, hands halfway to his ears. Why was he doing this. Why was he fighting her? She was his Mistress. He could trust her…

Mistress's mouth moved, as though trying to communicate. He couldn't understand what she was saying but he got the message. He turned to face his enemy.

She smelled like a cat. But Midnight knew she was here to fight him. This was _his_ territory. _His_ Mistress! She was his enemy and he would kill her. A low growl sounded in his throat as he lunged forward to kill his enemy.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter Seventeen: Mission Complete**

Eclipse skidded across the roof, scraping her elbows and knees on the concrete. She and Midnight rolled nearly to the edge before they stopped. Midnight was on top of her, holding down her arms on either side of her head.

Eclipse gulped when she looked into her brother's dark grey eyes. They were wide with exhilaration and anger. Eclipse didn't know it was even possible to have those two emotions at the same time! Midnight's expression was even worse. His hateful eyes added to his hungry look was a combination that screamed of murderous intent.

Eclipse realized what had happened. Mistress had ordered him to kill her!

"Midnight!"

Fern was standing at the top of the stairs. How did she get up here so fast? And Sapphire and Frost! _Right…_ Eclipse remembered. _They used their Glyphs._

Midnight's head suddenly jerked up and his eyes gazed at Fern. He sprang at her, releasing Eclipse. He was aiming to push Fern off the roof!

Eclipse's hand caught his ankle before he could go any further. "It's Mistress!" She told the others. "She's controlling him!"

Frost and Sapphire raced towards Mistress but Eclipse suddenly felt her hand slip through the air. Midnight was suddenly in front of Sapphire, then Frost, and then the twins were lying on the ground, unconscious.

Eclipse stood beside Fern. "How do we stop him?" She asked her. "He's too fast for either of us to catch him!"

"Animal instinct."

Eclipse jumped when Fern poke in her ear. Eclipse was about to ask her what she meant when she suddenly cried. "Demontail!"

"What?" Eclipse asked.

"Demontail, whip form, gimmie, quick! Before Mistress takes Flax on that airship!"

Eclipse tapped the end of Demontail's handle and it flopped over into whip form. Fern snatched it as Midnight lunged.

"Don't!" Eclipse screamed as Fern raised the weapon. But Fern didn't hit Midnight. She hit the ground in front of him and he jumped back, startled. Fern slid Demontail back and forth along the ground. Midnight froze, eyeing it suspiciously. Then he squatted. And then… he smiled. A huge grin spread across his face as he smacked at Demontail, trying to catch it!

"It worked!" Fern sighed in relief. She quickly handed Demontail over and hurried to Midnight's side. She wiggled her fingers against his neck and he laughed! Fern did the same thing all along his neck, under his arms and on his sides! He fell over, kicking and laughing. That's when Eclipse discovered something she had never known about her brother.

"Midnight's… _ticklish?_ "

Fern quickly used her guns, now with blades on the ends, to cut off Midnight's collar. Then she pulled off the earpieces. His eyes snapped open and his smile vanished. "Flax!" He cried, sitting up. Across the roof, Mistress noticed what had happened.

"Sanctuary!" She screamed, "Decide now!"

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Midnight's feet hit the rooftop ten times faster than his beating heart! Mistress had moved away from him! Step by step she was walking up the ramp and onto the airship, taking Flax with her! _No! NO!_ She had reached the top and the ship was taking off!

The ramp slid into the bottom of the ship and the door above was lowering! Midnight flung himself into the air and landed on the edge of the airship's open centre!

"What the-" Fulbright demanded. Midnight wrapped his arms around Flax and pushed off the edge with his feet.

"No!" Mistress screamed. She gabbed Flax's shirt but Midnight was already falling! She tumbled off the ship with him and they landed on the roof with a painful _THWAP!_

Midnight groaned and pushed Flax off his stomach. "No!" Mistress cried. The airship flew off without her, door closing with Fulbright's smug face glaring at them.

She turned only to find Midnight's fist gripping the top of her dress. Her piercing eyes were wide with fear and her hawkish face was twisted in a silent scream.

But Midnight didn't punch her. Instead he grabbed her wrist and tore off her keypad. He grabbed the Tier Flute and pulled it, snapping the thin string tat held it around her neck. She scrambled away from him and turned to run. But there was nowhere for her to go.

Eclipse was standing in her way with Fern. Even the twins had regained consciousness and were leaning on each other for support while blocking the fire escape. Midnight smirked and bent down to untie Flax. "You… can't defeat me!" Mistress said, sounding unsure.

Midnight proved her wrong with a single action. He held the Flute in both hands and, with a bit of effort, snapped it in half. He then stepped on and crushed her keypad, just to prove his point.

"Don't worry." He told her. "I'm sure they'll have room for you in a psych-ward somewhere."

"No-"

Mistress was cut off by Eclipse smacking her out cold with Demontail's handle. Midnight then proceeded to tie her up and gag her with the same bindings that had held Flax.

Eclipse knelt down beside Midnight. She seemed like she wanted to say something but was hesitant to speak. He could see something in her shining, amber eyes. _Regret._

"Midnight…" She said slowly. "I… wanted to apologize… For what I said. About Fern. And Flaxen and Hazel. The truth is… I only _act_ like I know what I'm doing and I _act_ like I know everything about everyone." She sighed and wiped a small tear from the corner of her eye. "But in reality I'm just overprotective and selfish! I'm just a stupid girl who thinks she can protect her little brother from dangers that aren't even real! I don't think things through and I can't always control what comes out of my mouth! If I had just been a better sister, maybe this would never have happened! You wouldn't have been kidnaped."

Midnight stared at her for a moment before snickering. Then he burst out laughing, causing her to give him a confused look. "You do realize," He said finally, "That if you weren't such a sourpuss, we might never have rescued forty-six kidnapped Faunus and thwarted an evil plot to take over Remnant with an army of children, don't you?"

Eclipse gawped at him for a moment before smiling a little. And this time… It was Midnight's turn to comfort his crying sibling with a hug.

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Soon after, Fern had pulled out something that looked like a speaker and asked for someone called Adam to land by the Bullhead that had brought them there. And as it turned out, Adam was a tall Faunus man that wore a Grimm mask.

Midnight counted Forty-six Faunus kids on board the giant aircraft. Forty-seven if he counted himself. Everyone was safe and the Tier Flute had been thrown into the airship's propeller and destroyed. Midnight had also stashed Mistress safely in the cargo bay where she couldn't frighten the younger kids.

After making a request to land at a specific destination before going back to Mistral, Midnight sat down beside Flax, who had been laid on the ground with a blanket found in the ships storage tucked under his head. On his right was his brother, whom Midnight had regrettably knocked unconscious. On Flax's left were three Faunus kids who hadn't quite gotten their earpieces off in time before Mistress tried to call on them. Adam had insisted that knocking them out was necessary to ensure he could keep them safe.

Midnight jumped in surprise when Flax coughed. His eyes flickered open. "Midnight?" He asked, sitting up. "What…" He looked around at the other kids.

"Long story." Midnight told him. "Summary is, we all escaped and Mistress is locked in the cargo bay."

Flax's brief relieved smile disappeared quickly before he asked, "What happened to Fulbright?"

"He… got away… and Bardolph as well."

Flax looked worried. "Do you think he'll come after me?"

"I don't know. He didn't seem to upset that we got you back." Midnight sighed. "Try not to worry about it."

Flax looked around again and his eyes found his brother. "He was on the rescue team." Midnight explained. Flax shook his brother.

"Crimson?" He asked. "Hey, come on, wake up."

He groaned and raised his hand to his head, rubbing the back where midnight had hit him. "Flax…" Crimson said. He smiled. "Glad… you're okay… augh." His head must have really hurt. His eyes shut again for about half an hour before he finally woke and stayed awake. The other kids were soon on their feet as well.

"We're here." Fern said. "Go get him."

Midnight nodded and went over to the small group of five Faunus. He tapped one on the shoulder. "Zeff." He said with a smile. "We're here." Amber sprang forward and hugged him.

"I'm gonna miss you." She said. She looked around. "All of you."

"Aww! Come here!" Sagira pulled Zeff, Amber and Sachie into a group hug. Sachie frowned at Shika until she said, "What the hey." and joined them.

The doors creaked open as Zeff stood up. The ship had landed at the end of a pathway that led to a small house in the middle of large fields housing small, green plants.

As the wind from the airship died down, four figures emerged from the house. One was a man with bright green eyes. Another was a woman with dark hair and yellow eyes and two teenaged boys followed her. One with green eyes and one with yellow. All four of them had the Faunus trait of wolf ears. They all stood with farm tools ready as weapons.

Zeff looked back at everyone and Midnight gestured for him to go. The wolf Faunus put on a burst of speed as he ran to the other Faunus. They dropped their weapons and ran to meet him. Zeff collided with his mother in a hug, soon joined by his father and two older brothers. Midnight smiled to himself. Zeff was home. Zeff was safe.

Midnight waved as the doors closed and the ship took off for Mistral. "Don't worry!" Amber said, coming to stand beside him. "We'll see him again." But she was crying. "Even if we live super far away."

"Where-"

"Patch." She sniffled. "I'm from Patch. I go to Signal."

"Right…" Midnight felt a pang of sadness when he realized that Zeff wasn't his only new friend he would have to part ways with. "What about the others. I mean… I can't really say goodbye without knowing that I could visit sometime."

This made Amber smile. "Sagira lives in Vytal but she goes to an academy in Vale." She informed him. "Sachie and Shika are from Atlas."

Midnight smiled to give her reassurance. "I'll try to visit sometime."


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter Eighteen: Home**

When the ship landed, Eclipse had never felt so self-conscious. First Adam had refused to stop despite the orders of the Atlesian Paladins. Then when they landed in the park, the police had shown up. The only thing that made the hours of waiting for things to be sorted out less awkward was her dad. He had come with the police.

The moment when he saw Midnight was so dramatic that Eclipse could have put it in a movie. Then he ruined it by calling her mother to rant about how stupid it was of her to do something like that alone.

After things had calmed down a bit, news reporters were given permission to broadcast while the parents came to take their kids home. The kids who didn't live in Mistral were told that they would be given a free transport home. Mistress was shoved into a police car and carried away. This was when Eclipse's mother showed up.

The first thing Mom did was hug Midnight. Then she demanded to hear the whole story. Eclipse explained from start to finish. Mom gulped. "The Faunus man… who helped you… what did you say his name was?"

"Adam."

Dad looked at Mom. "Surely it's not-"

"No…" She said. The wind had picked up suddenly and the airship was taking off before the police could take it back to the yard. Mom let out a murmur and her gaze was fixed on the front window. Adam was sitting in the pilot's seat, flying away. "It is…" Mom said. "It is."

Adam noticed her staring at him and gave her a slight nod. She smiled and nodded back. Eclipse realized she would have to get this story from her mother someday.

"Hey, Midnight." Fern came over and held out something red to Midnight. His weapons. Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang. "Thought you might want these back." He took them with a grin.

"And Hazel's still got your ribbon. She wanted to give it back to you herself."

"Something to look forward to when we get back to school." Midnight said.

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Three days. That's how long it took for things to settle down enough for Eclipse and Midnight to return to school. Even when thing seemed to go back to normal, Crimson's fan girls were trying to follow him everywhere and ask him questions. Eclipse couldn't blame them for adding two new words to that list. Heroic and brave.

Crimson had uselessly tried to explain that he was unconscious for all the important stuff. They ignored that and came up with an over exaggerated version of the story where he saved everyone by him self. Eclipse didn't really mind. She knew they would calm down eventually.

"Hey." Crimson said to everyone. Eclipse, her friends, Midnight and his friends were all sitting on the roof with their lunch trays. Crimson was holding up his wrist and the screen was up. "Smile!" He called.

Eclipse smiled. Crimson tapped the screen and took a picture of all of them. "Wow!" He said. "I'm totally keeping this one!"

"You say that about all of them." Flax said, rolling his eyes.

"Well, it's true." Crimson told him, sitting down. "Plus, that was our first mission. I'm always going to remember that!"

"But…" Eclipse said, "We're not even Huntsman or Huntresses yet. How can you call that a mission?"

Midnight laughed. "Didn't Mom ever tell you what she and her friends were like as kids?"

Sapphire giggled. "Our Mom said what we did was nothing close to what they got up to."

"Wait." Eclipse said quickly. "How exactly _do_ our parents know each other?"

"And this is why you should pay attention when a Huntress tells you a story." Midnight sighed, "Especially if she's your Mom."

"Okay, okay, I get it."

"Well," Said Frost. "They were all on a team at Beacon!"

"What?"

Crimson shook his head and Fern grunted, amused. Crimson finally spoke up. "Come on, Eclipse. Even _my_ parents knew about team RWBY."


	19. Chapter 19

**Volume Two**

 **Chapter Nineteen: Olive**

Fulbright grumbled and watched the tiny strand of Aura disappear. He hadn't gotten to his machine in time. The tiny bit of blood he had extracted from his test subject had already lost the small flecks of Aura it contained.

Fulbright called for one of his lab's guards to give orders. "Yes sir?" The guard asked, once he arrived.

"Flaxen Arc." Fulbright said, annoyed.

"Sir?" The guard was confused.

"The boy's name was Flaxen Arc. I want you to find him and bring him to me alive. And if you can't do that, at least find me someone with an exceptionally strong Aura."

"I'll send men out immediately." The guard answered. "Is there anything else?"

"Thieves." Said Fulbright said, after some thought. "I need you to hire some thieves."

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Midnight tapped his foot impatiently. Why was it so hard to hail a cab on a Saturday?

"Maybe the service is busy." Hazel guessed, gripping her umbrella. Midnight struggled to keep his from blowing away. The rain was just horrible today. Flax pulled the hood of his raincoat further over his head.

"There's one!" He called, pointing at a yellow vehicle. "If we tell the driver to hurry, maybe we won't be late. Fern's going to kill us if we are!"

Fern was not in the same Grimm studies class as Midnight, Flax and Hazel. So when they had to stay in the library for a project, Fern had just offered to wait for them at the Den.

The Den was a coffee shop near the park in Mistral. Midnight and his friends often went there to get away from school.

The cab pulled up and the three of them piled into the back seat. "The Den." Said Midnight, handing the driver three Lien. She nodded and drove. "It wouldn't hurt to go as fast as possible either." Midnight added.

"You like the Den?" The driver asked.

"They have awesome hot chocolate!" Hazel replied. "We're meeting a friend there."

"Sounds fun." The driver laughed. "I'd probably ask to go with you if I didn't have to work all day. But, at least I'm not out in the rain."

"Yeah… the rain's sort of making us late." Midnight said, hinting for her to go faster.

"So this friend of yours." The driver said, not catching it. "You close?"

"Yup." Said Hazel, "Fern's great!"

"Fern?" The driver asked, "Neat name. Goes along with the colour naming rule I bet. Green eyes?"

"Hair." Flax corrected, "Her eyes are red."

"Hm. She must be real pretty, huh?"

Midnight pulled out his Scroll. "I should probably text her. You know, since we obviously can't get there any faster."

"That's a great idea!" The driver said.

Midnight suddenly felt his seatbelt tighten around him. Flax and Hazel must have experienced the same thing because they squirmed and tried to get free. The cab pulled over and stopped. "While you're at it," The driver said, turning around and pointing a gun at Midnight, "You should tell her that Olive is pointing a gun at you and wants her to get in the cab."

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Fern stared at the rain splatting against the window. She picked a chocolate chip off her muffin and played her parody of 'happy birthday' through her head. _Happy birthday to you. Just hope I don't kill you. You're lucky you're alive. Happy birthday to you!_

Today was Basil's twelfth birthday. He wouldn't be very exited, she knew. It was supposed to be Mom's turn to try to assassinate him.

Fern pulled her attention away from the window when her Scroll buzzed. She had received a text from Midnight.

 **Going to be late.**

She texted him back. **Rain holding you up?**

 **Cab driver.**

 **?**

 **She's pointing a gun at me.**

Fern gulped. Out the window, a yellow cab had pulled up outside the Den. Her Scroll buzzed again.

 **Says her name is Olive. Wants you to get in the cab. Front seat. Is there something we should know?**

Fern quickly shut off her Scroll and shoved her muffin into its bag. She grabbed the muffins she had bought for her friends and hurried out the door, tucking them under her coat. She ran straight for the cab and climbed in the front seat. She glowered at the familiar face. Silvery-grey hair with long bangs and grey eyes. Olive.

She put the silver gun back in its holder on her leg. "Hello, Sis." Olive grinned. "Nice to see you."

"Sis?" Midnight asked. He, Flax and Hazel were all strapped down in the back seat. Fern tossed them their muffins.

"I just hoped I would never have to introduce you." She admitted. "This is my sister, Olive."

Flax spoke up. "Would you care to explain why she's kidnapping us?" He asked, opening the Den bag.

"That's a good question." Fern looked up at her sister. "Olive?"

"Mom and Dad sent me to bring you back, Sis." Olive said.

"So you'll kill my friends if I don't?"

Olive laughed. "Well, I admit it was going to be that way, but I've decided against it. I happen to like your friends. Killing them wouldn't be in my best interests. So I'm going to do something worse." She looked back at Fern's friends. "I'm going to introduce them to Mom and Dad."


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter Twenty: A Family Meeting**

Fern grumbled to herself as the cab, disguised as a low-flying aircraft, snuck past the guards. "We're leaving Mistral again?" Midnight asked.

"Yup." Fern said.

Hazel shuffled uncomfortably. "I don't really want to leave again. Not after… what happened…"

In the rear-view mirror, Fern saw Hazel glance at Flax. _I ship it._ Fern thought, out of habit.

"Oh, by the way, Sis." Olive said, her grey eyes gleaming with pride. "I thought you should know that Basil survived."

Fern gulped. "Survived." She repeated. "She hurt him, didn't she?"

"Nasty gash." Olive told her, still smiling. "All the way across his chest. But… he'll have healed by next year. Maybe he'll live if you beg me to go easy on him."

"Or I could just kidnap him." Fern mumbled. That was what she should have done. She should have taken Basil with her when she left.

The drive didn't take as long as the flight to Mistress's hideout. Fern's head was leaning against the window the whole time as she stared at the landscape. She hadn't wanted this to happen. She didn't want her friends to get dragged into her family problems. She didn't want to have to mention her family to anyone ever again. Of course though, she had failed at that goal when she had met Adam.

The cab drove into a small and run-down looking village as people stared, wondering who from the kingdoms would possibly want to come here. Fern climbed out after Olive switched off her vehicle. She stared up at the one-story house. Her memories of this place were her least favourite.

Olive opened the door for her friends and pointed her gun at Hazel. They all reluctantly got out and stood beside Fern. "This… is where you live?" Flax asked.

"I'd prefer it if you put that sentence in past tense." Fern sighed.

"In." Olive ordered. She must have wanted this to speed up a bit. Fern entered. The first thing she saw was the couch. It had been moved to the wall opposite the door. And lying on it, his chest and left shoulder wrapped neatly in bandages was Basil. Fern could smell his blood from the door.

"Basil!" She ran to him. He was fast asleep, either due to his injury or just plain being tired. He had Dad's silvery-grey hair but with a bit of a green tinge that had sparked his namesake. But his eyes were like Fern's and their mother's. Red.

"Basil." Fern whispered, gently shaking him. He jerked awake and threw a punch at her. She grabbed his fist, blocking his reflex. He groaned and clutched his chest. He hadn't been fully awake.

He looked over at her when he focused. "Fern?"

"Happy Birthday."

She hugged him but was careful not to touch his chest too hard. "When did you get back?" Basil asked. "And where'd you even go?"

"To Sanctum." Fern answered. "I went to Sanctum Academy in Mistral and learned how to fight _properly._ " She let go and then added. "I wish… I had taken you with me."

"It's okay." Basil tried to convince her. He placed a hand lightly on his chest. "I'll survive."

"That's not the same thing as _living_ though." Fern frowned.

"So… who are they?" Basil asked, nodding at Ferns friends.

"These are my friends." She told him. She pointed at each of them. "This is Midnight, Flaxen and Hazel."

They waved slightly at Basil. And he gave them a small smile. "Thank you… for taking care of my sister." He said.

"Well, more accurately, she took care of us." Midnight explained.

Basil pulled himself into a cross-legged position. "Mom and Dad are meeting with a new client. But they'll be back soon. They'll probably want you to come on the mission with them. I heard Mom say she wished she hadn't injured me. It must be a big mission for her to wish that."

Hazel puffed out her cheeks angrily. "Do your parents not care about you?"

Fern hated explaining this. "It's not like that." She told her friends. "They would never actually kill us. They do care about us. But they're training us. Once a year, they try to assassinate us so we learn self-defence. Because our parents are thieves and assassins, there _will_ be a day when someone comes to kill us. For _real!_ That's life for us. And it sucks! That's why I left."

Midnight sighed. "You should have told us." He said. "But I can understand why you didn't."

Fern managed a smile. "Well… no use dwelling on it. I just want to get this over with."

The door suddenly burst open, revealing a woman with a dark complexion and mint green hair. Her eyes were red and her leg was raised after kicking the door open. She wore black leggings and a crop-top. Fern gulped. Mother.

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Midnight jumped when the door flew open and a woman came speeding towards Olive. The woman swung a kick at Fern's sister but she blocked. The fight lasted a whole thirty seconds before they both drew their guns and had the barrel pressed against each other's throats.

"Fern's home." Olive said, breathing heavily.

"Oh?" The woman looked over at Fern. She smiled. "Glad to have you back. You showed up just in time, kid." Her face grew serious. "We've got a job."

There was another thud as a man walked in through the door and fell flat of his face. "Need… food." He groaned. "Meeting… too… boring!"

"Baby." The woman sniffed.

"Bossy." The man growled.

Midnight wondered if the man was Fern's father. The man stood and brushed himself off. "Dad, Fern's back." Olive repeated, sliding her gun into its holder.

The man folded his arms. "Well, dang." He said. "Thought you'd gone to get yourself killed."

"If I wanted to die, I would have stayed." Fern mumbled.

"So tell me, Olive." Fern's mother said. "Who are these other kids you've brought along?"

Midnight frowned and stepped slightly between her and his friends. "Fern made some 'friends' while she was away. I had to use them as leverage to bring her back."

Fern's father pushed himself to his feet and stood over Midnight, Flax and Hazel. He stared down at Midnight, grey eyes studying him. His eyes moved between the three of them. "Huh." He grunted, biting his lip. "There's something… familiar about the three of you. Can't place it."

Midnight wondered how Fern's father could have known them. Midnight had only known Fern for three months.

"What's the job?" Fern asked.

"We need to ambush an aircraft full of blueprints and schematics for new tech." Fern's mother said. "This should be easy considering we've already stolen a ten-foot tall war machine and hijacked more airships than I can count." Fern's father paused for a moment. "They'll have to stay here." He said, jutting his thumb at Midnight and his friends.

"No." Fern growled. "You're sending them home!"

Fern's mother crossed her arms and spat. "Don't be ridiculous. It's two hours to sunset. We haven't got time."

"And Fern," Midnight put in, "Have you met us? We wouldn't leave you if the world was imploding."

Fern's father laughed. "If you stay, you aren't leaving this house. Runts like you know nothing of thievery!"

Hazel raised her hand, still hiding behind midnight. "Actually sir, you'd be surprised."

Flax bit his lip. "Well, Hazel and I might end up being left behind. But still. You can't just push us off like that. You've never even met us."

"Your point?" Fern's father asked, menacingly.

Midnight handed him Olive's gun. "Our point is that this was on Olive's belt a minute ago. Maybe she dropped it."

Olive gripped her empty gun pouch. "Why you little-" She lunged at Midnight before she could find the right word to describe him. His Semblance reacted faster than his mind.

Midnight struck Olive at her pressure points as soon as he was behind her. He missed the one on her right arm but managed to render her incapable of fighting. It was actually a trick he had learned from Fern. "Sorry." He said when she hit the wall and slid to the floor. He went to stick his hands in his pockets but felt his fingers brush metal. "Oh." He laughed turning to Fern's father. "I was scared you might attack us so I took this. I mean, the less rounds you had, the better." He handed the man the small cylinder of dust. "Cool legs by the way… wait… that came out wrong. I meant the weapons you're hiding in your prosthetics."

Fern's father gritted his teeth. "Where'd you learn to do that?" He asked.

"All over the place." Midnight answered. "My dad, observing Fern and just figuring things out on my own. I'm almost self taught."

Fern's mother grunted. "Huh." Her eyes studied him closely. "Not bad." She circled him once and stopped in front of him. "Well Merc, I suppose we'll need a scout."

"Midnight!" Fern yelled.

Three things happened at once. Olive disappeared and was suddenly head-locking Flax and Hazel; Fern leaped off the couch and her mother was no longer in front of Midnight. He felt a sudden sharp pain in the back of his neck and his whole body went numb. He hit the floor with a painful _thud._

Midnight couldn't move anymore. All he could do was lie there and work out what exactly had happened. Maybe Olive, Fern and their mother shared the same Semblance. Fern had used it in the fight with Mistress. Perception Manipulation.

Midnight closed his eyes, wondering what he should do. The fact that he couldn't move a muscle eliminated every option. He was pulled off the ground and hoisted onto someone's back. Fern's father made sure to make it uncomfortable.

Fern yelled at her parents and ran after them. Midnight couldn't hear anything they said to each other. He squeezed his eyes shut. _I'm leaving this to you, Fern._


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter Twenty-One**

Fern sat cross-legged in the back of her family's old truck on the way to the location for the hijacking. Her parents had knocked Midnight out as a way to force her to see the mission through to the end. They had agreed that if he woke up in time he would join them.

Fern kept her eyes on him, waiting for him to wake up. She wondered if he would stay unconscious for the whole mission. She would have preferred it that way. She didn't want him mixed up with her family.

Olive was sitting smugly across from her. She seemed pleased with herself for bringing Fern home. It pissed Fern off to see her with an expression like that.

"So who's the employer this time?" Fern asked, unable to keep up her silent treatment.

"You'll have to wait, Sis." Olive said, "You don't really deserve to know anything at all."

Fern gritted her teeth. Olive was just the worst. Fern doubted she had a selfless bone in her body. Everything she did benefitted her to some degree. Like being rude and acting superior to Fern. That was for amusement.

The truck came to a sudden stop. Fern pressed her leg down to keep from falling over. They had halted in the middle of the woods by a square, stone shack. "Here we are." Olive sighed.

Fern reluctantly left Midnight in the truck to follow her parents and sister into the shack.

The interior was dark and dusty with a hole in the roof that would be great for looking out for the ship. "This'll be our bunker until the ship passes over." Fern's mother explained.

"How does our 'client' know the ship's rout?" Fern asked, annoyed with the secrecy.

"Well he wouldn't hire us to steal it if he didn't know where it was." Olive said as if Fern should have known that. "We're not trackers or anything, Sis."

Fern wanted to punch that smug little b-

"Guns."

"What?" Fern asked her mother.

"You still have my guns."

Fern's hands went to the guns on the back of her belt but her father just chuckled. "They suit you, kid." Mother frowned at him and he said in defence, "You have new ones."

Fern dropped her hands to her sides. "Will… Will you let me keep them, Mom? I'm not apologising for stealing them, but I needed them. They're part of me now."

"If you break them, I'll break your bones."

Fern felt a smile tug at her lips. She needed the guns more than she could admit. They had allowed her to enter Sanctum, for one thing. No weapon, no entry. For Sanctum, you needed the weapon before you registered. It wasn't like Signal. You didn't get to make your own. So Fern had stolen the guns.

"Aw, no." Olive suddenly groaned. Thunder boomed outside. "How are we supposed to do this now? We'll miss it."

Fern took the opportunity to annoy her sister. "A little rain make you uneasy, Sis?" She asked, "And you think _I'm_ inexperienced."

Olive's reaction was all the satisfaction Fern needed. Her teeth gritted and her nose scrunched up like a pig.

"Get the kid." Dad sighed. "Bring him in here before the rain starts."

Fern felt her stomach heat when she realized she'd been stupid enough to forget about Midnight. She spun on her heel and went straight outside to the truck. "Please don't wake up." She muttered to herself, climbing in the back. "Please don't wake up. Please don't-"

The moment Fern tried to move him, Midnight groaned. Fern closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Crap."

"What is?" Midnight sighed, struggling to get his fingers to move.

"You."

Midnight gave Fern an amused grunt. "You don't want me… to be here… do you?"

"Would you?"

"But I wouldn't be able to get rid of you."

Fern couldn't keep herself from smiling. She pulled his arm over her shoulder. "It'll wear off." She told him. "You'll be able to move in a few minutes."

"Will you let me help you when it does?" Midnight asked looking at her with his dark grey eyes.

"Not with the stealing part of it." Fern replied, dragging him off the truck's back. She was silent a moment as she pulled him across the leaf-covered ground. "But… maybe you can help… with the family part."

When Fern got him inside Olive seemed way too happy that he was awake. Fern guessed Sis wanted him involved because she didn't.

"Now." Dad said, lacing his fingers and stretching his arms in front of him. "Since we're all here, I'll explain the plan." He grinned. "I'm going to clip the ship's wing with a shot to slow it down. Fern, using the grappling hook option with those guns, you and Em will invade the ship. The cases with the blueprints will be tossed down and retrieved by Olive, assuming she's fast enough to catch them. I marked the landing spots when we first came here with our client."

"But I wasn't here when you-"

"You're going out to find them right now, Olive." Mom interrupted. "They're in five spots, just a little bit east." She jutted her thumb to her right.

Olive grumpily got up and left, muttering something under her breath. Fern was quite pleased when she was gone. "The rain won't start for a while." Mom said. She pointed at midnight. "You watch for the ship."

Midnight seemed a little surprised that she had something for him to do. "No." Fern objected. "He's _not_ helping to steal _anything_. Besides, he can't move."

"Lie me under the hole in the roof." Midnight said quietly.

"No."

Dad sighed. "Fern. This is your only chance to prove yourself again."

"But-"

"Fern… just do it." Midnight whispered in her ear. "You need to work this out with them. But if you don't do this… they won't trust you enough to listen as parents." He smiled at her and she reluctantly pulled him over to the circle of light from the hole.

It was a while after before Olive came back. It had begun to get dark so Dad climbed on the roof to assemble his sniper rifle. Only a few drops of rain had fallen from the sky so far. Fern wondered if they'd be lucky enough for it to stay dry until the theft was over.

As the night dragged on Fern began to grow nervous. What would happen once this was over. Would she be able to return to Mistral? Would her friends at least be able to go back to school and a regular life? A sudden voice from the darkness brought her back to the present problem.

"It's here." Midnight whispered.


End file.
